The Southern Fruit Research Institute (SOFRI), in cooperation with the National Institute of Agricultural Planning and Projection (NIAPP) have selected seven specialty fruits in 8 cities and provinces in the Mekong Delta region, Vietnam’s largest fruit basket, to be key fruits for export in the coming years.
The selection is made during a seminar to develop specialty fruit trees in the Mekong Delta region by 2010.
The fruits, comprising Nam Roi pomelo and Green Skin grapefruit, “Sanh” orange, Hoa Loc sweet mango, Ri-6 durian and Chin Hoa durian, mangosteen, Lo Ren star apple and blue dragon fruit, will be developed in Tien Giang, Vinh Long, Dong Thap, Ben Tre, Tra Vinh, Hau Giang and Soc Trang provinces and Can Tho city.
Among the provinces, Tien Giang, Vinh Long and Ben Tre are recognized as three key areas thanks to favorable ecological condition and better infrastructure.
Of the chosen fruits, such brand names as Nam Roi and Green Skin pomelo, Hoa Loc sweet mango, Chin Hoa durian and Lo Ren star apple have been well-known not only on the domestic market but foreign ones as well.
According to the seminar, the Mekong Delta will increase its total specialty fruit output to around 575,570-593,942 tons by 2010 from some 360,728 tons in 2004.
Total value from specialty fruit is expected to reach VND3,848.899-4,002.682 billion by the time, including around $35-40 million from export revenue.
Mekong Delta province also will expand its orchard area to 300,000 ha in 2006 and 420,000 ha in 2010 from the current 231,000 ha.
In other news, Vietnam currently has around 766,100 hectares of orchard, which produce an estimated 6.5 million tons of fruit a year, including 1.4 million tons of bananas, 800,000 tons of citrus fruit and 590,000 tons of longans.
Vietnam Economic Times, Youth
Vietnamese
