Tien Giang star-apple fruit breaks into US market

Star apple harvest in Tien Giang (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam has become the first country allowed to export star apple to the US after 10 years of negotiations, with the first batch of the fruit from the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang exported to the market on December 26.

In preparation for the shipment of one tonne of star apples to the US, local enterprises inked consumption contracts with cooperatives in My Long, Huu Dao and Long Hung communes (Chau Thanh district) and Ban Long communes (Cai Lay district). 

Some 56.34 hectares of star apples in Tien Giang province have been designated for growing fruit for export to the US.

Together with litchi, longan, rambutan and dragon fruit, star apple is the fifth Vietnamese fruit allowed to be sold in the market.

Vietnam has about 5,000 hectares of star apples, mainly in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang (3,100 hectares) and Can Tho city (1,200 hectares). Fruit productivity is about 18-22 tonnes per hectare. Total annual output exceeds 60,000 tonnes.