No more uncertainty
In early December, we had the opportunity to visit the green-skinned mango garden of Mr. Phan Van Tay - Director of Loc Hung Agricultural Cooperative - in Thoi Hung Commune (Co Do District, Can Tho City). Here, the mangoes have been carefully wrapped in paper bags since they were small.
Mr. Tay said that currently, all members of the cooperative cultivate according to VietGAP standards. Instead of spraying pesticides to protect mangoes, members cover the fruit when they are still small. Thanks to that, the mangoes are both beautiful and have no pesticide residue, meeting export criteria.
According to Mr. Tay, growing mangoes in the past was very risky as it depended about 85% on the weather and unstable market prices. But now, growing mangoes for export, although having to follow many procedures set by the company, in return, the profit that farmers get is 20% higher than domestic consumption.
“Before being exported, green-skinned elephant mangoes were heavily affected by the market, sometimes 10,000 - 20,000 VND/kg, sometimes only 7,000 - 8,000 VND/kg, but now we are guaranteed by the company, the price of mangoes has also increased significantly,” said Mr. Tay.
In particular, the export of the first batch of green-skinned elephant mangoes from the cooperative - the first batch of famous elephant mangoes from Can Tho City to Australia and the US in June this year - has opened up more opportunities for consumption of this fruit.
“The cooperative’s green-skinned mango batches exported to the US and Australian markets not only open up new opportunities in fruit consumption but also motivate farmers to increase production, learn techniques and better comply with regulations to increasingly improve the quality of mangoes to meet export standards,” Mr. Tay shared.
Connect, enhance value
Head of the Co Do District Plant Protection and Cultivation Station - Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Tran - informed that Co Do District is one of the main fruit growing areas of Can Tho City with about 5,000 hectares. Many types of fruit from the district have been exported to demanding markets such as the United States, Australia, the EU, Japan and other countries in the world.
For green-skinned elephant mango, in recent times, it has been affected by many market impacts, having to compete with other fruits in the same season, so there were times when the price dropped sharply. The export of the first batch of green-skinned elephant mangoes of Can Tho City and also of the district has opened up great opportunities for mango farmers. Farmers need to take advantage of this opportunity, comply with the instructions and regulations on agricultural products for export, link and expand the growing area, and find partners to consume more green-skinned elephant mangoes.
Speaking with Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Tran Thai Nghiem - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Can Tho City - emphasized that although the number of the first batch of green-skinned elephant mangoes exported to the US and Australia is not much, this is one of the activities to promote fruit exports of the city.
“Can Tho’s agricultural sector will continue to focus on establishing growing area codes, guiding farmers on technical solutions to ensure productivity, quality, and food safety; forming large raw material areas, especially the linkage between growing areas and businesses. From there, promoting sustainable agricultural production and increasing value,” said Mr. Nghiem.
