First Vietnamese mangos exported to US

Vietnam has exported its first batch of eight tons of mango to the U.S. after a decade-long process of getting approval.

Vietnam has exported the first eight tons of mango to the U.S. Photo by Shutterstock/Roman Babakin

The consignment, shipped from Dong Thap Province in the Mekong Delta on Thursday, has been given a barcode to check origin by the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

The fruits were grown without any plant protection chemicals to meet U.S. standards.

Dong Thap has the largest area under mango in the delta -- over 9,300 hectares -- and produces around 127,000 tons a year.

The U.S. gave Vietnam the green light to ship mangoes in February, 10 years after it applied for it.

Mango is Vietnam’s sixth fresh fruit licensed to be exported to the U.S. after dragon fruit, rambutan, longan, lychee, and star apple. 

The U.S. was Vietnam’s fourth largest buyer of agriculture produce last year, accounting for 10.7 percent of its exports, behind China, the E.U. and ASEAN.

Some 96 percent of Vietnam's mango production is consumed domestically, with the rest exported to 40 countries either as fresh fruit or in processed form.

Other important markets include South Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.