Cao Lanh giant-sized mangos are on sale in Australian supermarkets. — Photo baotintuc.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The first Vietnamese fresh mangos appeared for sale in several shops and supermarkets in Perth City, western Australia, on September 21.

This is the first batch of mangos that Viet Nam has exported to Australia following seven years of negotiations, becoming the second Vietnamese fruit after the litchi to be imported into the country.

The mango variety being exported by the Viet Nam Agricare Company is the Cao Lanh giant-sized mango as a way to explore the Australian market after the country officially opened its doors to the Vietnamese fruit.

To enter a ‘difficult' market like Australia, the Agricare Company has cooperated with farmers in southern Dong Thap Province to grow mangos under VietGap (Vietnamese good agriculture practices) and ensure it matched with Australian standards. Not only mango, but other fruits will also have to meet stringent conditions on growing areas, packaging, hygiene and regulations on quarantine and food safety, as well as pest control and transportation process.

Viet Nam Consul General in Perth Phung The Long said in the Nguyen Phat supermarket chain in Perth City, the Vietnamese mango had been welcomed by the Vietnamese community and the locals, even though the mango harvest season was on in Australia.

Long said Australia was currently experiencing the mango harvest season, so the consumption of the Vietnamese fruit would not be too high, but once the season ended or from February onwards, the Vietnamese mango would have better sales, with the only other mango variety imported from Mexico.

An owner of a wholesale fruit company in the Australia's western region plans to visit Viet Nam this weekend to sign a contract to bring the Vietnamese fruit to the country's western region.

Director of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's Plant Protection Department Hoang Trung told Viet Nam News that the Australia's open doors for the Vietnamese fresh mango would create more opportunities for Viet Nam's fruit growing industry to export to this market.

"After mango, the dragon fruit will be next Vietnamese fruit in line to enter the Australian market," Trung said.

Trung said the Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources has completed the draft for the import of Vietnamese dragon fruit. The draft has been sent to several relevant sectors and organisations to get suggestions before it is submitted to the government for approval.

If it is approved, the first batch of dragon fruit will be shipped to Australia in early 2017, Trung added.

Earlier, the Vietnamese fresh mango was exported to difficult markets, including Japan, South Korea and New Zealand. It is expected to be exported to the United States in the near future. — VNS