A truck carrying the first batch of fresh pomelo from Ben Tre for export to the US (Photo: VNA)
After over five years of negotiations, the US Department of Agriculture officially licensed the import of the fruit earlier this year, making it the seventh fresh fruit of Vietnam permitted to enter the market, following mango, longan, lychee, dragon fruit, rambutan, and star apple. The Chanh Thu Fruit Import - Export Group Joint Stock Company in Ben Tre's Cho Lach district is the one behind the shipment of the first pomelo batch.
Addressing the ceremony, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam said the US is a fastidious market, but its demand for fresh fruits remains tremendous.
He noted that for the coming into being of this first batch, growing and packing facilities had to prepare themselves and undergo many stages of inspection by specialised agencies of both countries, so that their production meets the requirements of quarantine and harmful organisms control, and safety and hygiene; complies with packaging regulations; and ensures accurate traceability.
Vietnam’s pomelo plantations cover 105,400ha in total, yielding nearly 905,000 tonnes annually. Of the total area, Ben Tre accounts for about 10,000ha with an annual productivity of more than 200,000 tonnes.
The province has so far been granted 25 planting area codes to export green-skin pomelo to the US and the EU. The 11 codes serving the US market span 156.76ha and produce 3,135 tonnes on an annual basis./.
