Ministry to hold trade activities to promote longan consumption hinh anh 1Customers buy longan at a Hung Yen longan festival in Hanoi (Photo: VNA)
 
Hanoi (VNA) – Many trade activities will be launched in the coming time to promote the consumption and export of fresh longan, said the Department of Farm Produce Processing and Market Development under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

Accordingly, the department will join hands with the provinces of Hung Yen and Son La to organise trade promotion conferences for the fruit and other farm produce of the two northern provinces. Celebratory longan weeks and festivals will also be held in Hanoi and the two localities.

Northern provinces are set to start harvesting longan in late July until September this year. Thanks to favourable weather conditions, the fruition rate is expected to hit 95 percent.

Son La and Hung Yen are the largest longan growing provinces in Vietnam’s northern region, with over 12,250ha and 4,320ha in dedicated land, respectively. From the start of this year, the MARD has worked with these localities to devise plans for longan cultivation and consumption.

The two provinces have focused on raising the fruit’s productivity and quality over the years, meeting requirements by both domestic and foreign markets.

Son La is home to 60 longan growing cooperatives, among which 12 have received certification from the Vietnamese Good Agriculture Practice (VietGap). Longan from the province is shipped to the US, Australia, the Republic of Korea, and other ASEAN nations.

The province’s Song Ma longan was accredited by the National Office of Intellectual Property, under the Ministry of Science and Technology.
Meanwhile, Hung Yen has three areas of longan cultivation, with 62ha being grown under VietGap standards. -VNA
VNA