Tien Giang: 400 tonnes of star apples to set off for the US this year. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Farmers in the Mekong Delta province of TienGiang are preparing the shipment of 400 tonnes of local well-known Lo Ren starapples to the US this year.
This is the second year Tien Giang has shipped fresh star apples to theUS. Last year the province exported nearly 100 tonnes of the fruits to themarket.
To fulfill the order, the star apple fruits have been collected from morethan 270 farms across the districts of Cai Be, Cai Lay and Chau Thanh. Thesefarms grow over 100 hectares of star apples which have been verified andlabeled with code stamps to trace the origin of the fruit.
The farms have used advanced techniques for pesticide management asrequired by the US Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and maderecords of the star apple farming.
The first batch of Vietnamese star apples arrived in the US in Decemberlast year, making Vietnam the first and only country licensed to sell freshstar apples to the demanding market, following years of negotiations, accordingto the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Star apple is among six Vietnamese fruitsallowed into the American market, together with litchi, longan, rambutan,dragon fruit, and mango.
Last year, Vietnam was estimated to haveabout 5,000 hectares of star apples, mainly in Tien Giang (3,100ha) and Can Thocity (1,200ha).
Tien Giang boats the country’s largest orchardarea with some 73,000 hectares, which yield around 1.4 million tonnes of fruitsa year. If the Mekong Delta is dubbed Vietnam’s fruit kingdom, the provinceshould be called “the kingdom of the fruit kingdom” since it has many fruitbrands such as Lo Ren Vinh Kim star apple, Hoa Loc mango and Tan Phuocpineapple. –VNA
VNA
