Vietnam has become the first country to export fresh star apple to the United States, after the first batch of the fruit from the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang was exported to the market on December 26.

Vietnam is the first country allowed to export star apple to the US.

This is good news for Vietnam’s agricultural sector as a whole and for Tien Giang’s farmers in particular.

As a key province in terms of farming production in the Mekong Delta region, Tien Giang possesses advantages for boosting the development of the fruit production, processing and export industry.

Tien Giang currently has over 74,000 hectares of fruit trees with an annual output of 1.4 million tonnes, including 1,100 hectares of star apple, which generates a yield of 10,000 tonnes of fresh fruits per year.

In preparation for the shipment of one tonne of star apples to the US, local enterprises signed 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 fruits 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)./.

VNF/NDO