U.S. opens door for Vietnamese mangoes

A farmer is at work on his mango farm. Vietnam will soon export mangoes to the U.S - Photo: Trung Chanh

Having sent the first shipments of star apples to the U.S., Vietnam is prepping for exporting mangoes stateside, which will help the local fruit to conquer more choosy markets and boost Vietnamese fruit export, said Le Van Thiet of the agriculture ministry.

The deputy director of the Vietnam Plant Protection Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development told the Daily the first mango batch would soon be exported to the U.S. but a ceremony to mark this milestone will not be organized in April as planned.

“However, the negotiation on the mango shipment is over,” said Thiet.

According to Thiet, that Vietnamese mangoes enter the U.S., a market demanding high product quality, enhances Vietnamese agricultural product export and raises farmers’ income owing to the higher price.

To get the nod from the U.S., Vietnamese mangoes must meet three basic requirements including American-standard farmland with a code issued, the packaging unit certified by the U.S., and the U.S.-certified illumination plant.

With the successful penetration into the U.S. market, Vietnam’s mangoes are now shipped to 40 markets worldwide, including Japan, South Korea and Europe, said Thiet.

On December 26, 2017, Vietnam sent the first batch of star apples to the U.S. market after ten years of negotiations with the same standard as that of mangoes.