Phu Quoc island district in the southern province of Kien Giang is making all-out efforts to improve the quality and value of pepper, its traditional product, aiming to obtain the Global Good Agricultural Practice certificate.

With 385 hectares of pepper trees, mostly in Cua Duong and Cua Can communes, Phu Quoc reaps nearly 1,000 tonnes of pepper a year.

The locality plans to expand its area of pepper trees to 500 hectares by 2015 and 1,000 hectares by 2020 with expected yield of 3 tonnes per hectare.

In 2011, the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam granted a licence to Phu Quoc pepper, helping the district to affirm its product’s traditional value and quality while creating conditions for it to introduce its product to the world market.

Phu Quoc district is working on a pepper growing process in an efficient and eco-friendly manner and will transfer it to farmers.

Local officials have said they target clean and safe products to serve both domestic consumption and export.

According to Nguyen Minh Truc, Head of Phu Quoc’s Economic Office, the locality targets organic and sustainable cultivation of pepper trees while paying attention to promoting its brand name in the domestic and foreign market.

Apart from specialties such as pearl, seafood, fish sauce and wine, pepper cultivation in Phu Quoc is developing in a sustainable manner in combination with service and tourism, contributing to the locality’s socio-economic growth.-VNA