(VOVworld) – Apart from rice and mangoes, Đồng Tháp’s longan has gradually solidified its brand and been accepted by foreign markets. Recent investment by a Korean group in a longan production facility for exports has opened new opportunities for local farmers. Now longan has become one of the province’s hard currency earners.

Lê Thị Bích Thuỷ, Deputy Director of Science and Technology Department, handed over the “Certificate of registered trademark” of “Châu Thành Longan – Đồng Tháp” to Châu Thành District leader. (Photo: dongthap.gov.vn)

Korean group In Jea has surveyed many Edor longan gardens in An Nhơn, Châu Thành District, and the products have been assessed as meeting regulatory standards in terms of shape, quality, and size.

In Jea Group which specializes in food and agricultural produce supplies promises to buy Châu Thành longan. Last year, the Châu Thành Longan Cooperative successfully exported Edor longan to the US.

Jo Hyung Tea, the Director of the In Jae Đồng Tháp Company, said: “Đồng Tháp’s fruits are of better quality in comparison with the same types of products in other regional countries like the Philippines or Thailand. The output is abundant, so it can supply enough resources for our company to export to the Korean market.”

Châu Thành has a total area of more than 3,200 hectares of longan, accounting for half of the local fruit production area.

The Châu Thành Longan Cooperative is checking and reviewing the total production land and the current situation of longan cultivation toward making accurate estimates of productivity.

In addition, the cooperative has regularly reminded farmers to take note of the cultivation process in line with Vietnam Agriculture Practice (VietGAP) standards.

Truong Van Roi, Director of the Châu Thành Longan Cooperative, said: “We have called on local farmers to apply VietGAP standards in their cultivation and follow the US’s regulations. They should realize that they should now produce what the market needs, not what they want to sell.”

AloeFruitWave representative Mike Dodds (left) visits a plantation in Dong Thap Province to look for qualified products to ship to the UK. (Photo: tuoitrenews.vn)

Most farmers have reached consensus with the district’s authorities on cooperating with foreign partners to export Vietnamese agricultural products to the world.

What they are concerned about is the product price according to Phan Thi Be Sau of An Nhơn Commune.

“We feel more secure thanks to the support of the cooperative. The price is now stable, unlike in the past. If we were lucky, we could sell the product at a high price, and if we weren’t, we couldn’t,” said Sau.

Phan Kim Sa, Deputy Director of Đồng Tháp’s Industry and Trade Department, said local farmers will also face challenges because domestic growers have long been familiar with crop cultivation. Thus, regularly supplying products to foreign companies under strict contracts, could easily become an obstacle. A longan crop lasts seven months from blossoming to harvest. But we should make sure that products are available to provide to customers every month.

Sa said: “The Korean market has been specifically interested in some agricultural items from Đồng Tháp including longan, and promises a great potential. This is an opportunity for Vietnamese farm produce to reduce dependence on a certain single market. Therefore we should arrange production to meet the demand of such a potential trade partner.”

Thousands of Đồng Tháp specialties, including Cao Lãnh mango and Châu Thành longan, have been sold on the domestic market and exported to the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, China, and Hong Kong.