Tiền Giang tightens quality control of star apples

Star apple fruits checked before export. — Photo vtv

TIỀN GIANG — Many drastic measures have been taken to strictly control and ensure the quality of star apple fruits exported to the US market.

This was said by Nguyễn Văn Mẫn, director of Tiền Giang Province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, on March 20.

The province is specifically focusing on identifying planting areas, transferring techniques of intensive farming and guiding farmers to manage the quality of agricultural inputs through many practical solutions, such as training on pest-control techniques and using plant protection drugs to avoid substances banned in the United States.

At the same time, the province requires exporters to coordinate closely with professional management agencies for timely technical assistance.

Mẫn said the planting areas that have been granted business codes must follow the VietGap production practice to ensure hygiene, food safety and traceability.

The province will continue providing farmers with bio-based pesticides and standardised fruit-covering bags.

To ensure the quality of fruits exported to the market, the department also proposed the Department of Plant Protection under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to continue to scrutinise the issuance of business codes to exporters and closely inspect the origin, design and quality of shipments during export so that the brand name of Vietnamese star apple fruits does not get affected, Mẫn said.

He also said the Plant Protection Department should regularly inform localities on plant quarantine of exported star apples to timely correct violations.

To meet the export demand of star apple, the southern province has a raw material area of ​​over 120ha. Five enterprises have been granted business codes to export star apples to the US.

According to Võ Văn Men, deputy director of the provincial Department of Plant Protection, since the first shipment of star apples to the country in December last year, the province has exported 73 tonnes of the product to the market.