In order to take advantage of the opportunity for certain types of fruit to be officially exported to China and other international markets, Dong Thap province is focusing on establishing planting area codes, packaging facility codes, and controlling food safety for export.

According to Mr. Le Ha Luan, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Dong Thap province, in order to improve the effectiveness of state management in granting and managing codes for growing areas and packaging facilities, and controlling food safety, the agricultural sector of Dong Thap province continues to promote the granting and management of codes for growing areas and packaging facilities, and control food safety in export-oriented growing areas and packaging facilities in the province.

This will enhance the capacity for managing, inspecting, evaluating, monitoring, and controlling the quality of agricultural products in growing areas and packaging facilities, facilitating traceability and meeting the requirements of importing countries in the new context. Simultaneously, it will raise awareness and change the mindset of farmers regarding the use of fertilizers and pesticides, pest management, and the production of safe, high-quality agricultural products that meet regulations on plant quarantine, food safety, and traceability, thereby increasing the value of agricultural products in the province.

Dong Thap currently has 134,903 hectares of fruit orchards with a production of 517,142 tons, along with several specialty fruits that have a competitive advantage and high consumer demand, establishing their brands in domestic and international markets such as dragon fruit, durian, and Hoa Loc mangoes. The province has over 32,100 hectares of durian orchards with over 22,100 hectares bearing fruit, producing nearly 557,000 tons; approximately 24,600 hectares of jackfruit with a production of 437,400 tons; and 9,400 hectares of dragon fruit with a harvest of 236,000 tons per year.

Recognizing that fruits like durian, dragon fruit, and jackfruit are key crops in its agricultural structure, Dong Thap province is focusing on applying science and technology to cultivation processes to improve the quality of dragon fruit. Simultaneously, it is promoting the issuance of planting area codes and packaging facility codes, and applying VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards to production to increase the competitiveness of dragon fruit in the export market, contributing to the sustainable development of this industry in the future.

To date, the province has approved 1,500 export-oriented growing areas. The locality has been granted growing area codes for over 1,144 hectares and 462 packaging facility codes, including 111 codes for durian and 110 codes for jackfruit.

In the dragon fruit-growing communes of Dong Thap province, concentrated in the eastern part of the province such as Tan Thuan Binh, My Tinh An, Cho Gao, etc., there are 9,400 hectares of dragon fruit, with 5,545 hectares currently bearing fruit and a harvest yield of 236,000 tons/year; of which, the area of dragon fruit produced according to VietGAP standards is about 2,200 hectares, and according to GlobalGAP standards is over 300 hectares.

Mr. Cao Tan Hieu, Chairman of the People's Committee of Tan Thuan Binh commune, Dong Thap province, said that granting dragon fruit growing area codes plays an important role in facilitating exports. Technical staff have actively guided and advised dragon fruit growers to strictly adhere to production processes to meet the requirements of granting growing area codes, thereby creating favorable conditions for dragon fruit to be exported to other countries.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Dong Thap province, to date, the entire province has over 2,300 hectares of dragon fruit orchards certified to meet GAP standards, along with 33 planting area codes for export to the Chinese market (5,493 hectares) and 92 planting area codes for export to Japan, the United States, South Korea, and Australia (1,271 hectares). This is considered an important passport for Dong Thap province's dragon fruit to strongly penetrate demanding markets around the world.

Mr. Nguyen Trung Quy, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hung Thinh Phat Clean Agriculture Cooperative in Tan Thuan Binh commune, Dong Thap province, said that to date, the cooperative has been granted 6 planting area codes for exporting dragon fruit to the United States, China, Australia, and New Zealand; including 5 codes for red-fleshed dragon fruit and 1 code for white-fleshed dragon fruit.

After being granted a planting area code, Hung Thinh Phat Clean Agriculture Cooperative has found it easier to contact domestic and international customers to find outlets for dragon fruit through a safe and sustainable supply chain, contributing to ensuring stable output for cooperative members and dragon fruit growers in the locality.

For durian, Dong Thap province has established concentrated specialized cultivation areas in communes located within the flood control zone in the western part of the province, with approximately 32,100 hectares of durian orchards, of which over 22,100 hectares are bearing fruit, yielding nearly 557,000 tons.

Mr. Phung Thanh Quang, Chairman of the People's Committee of My Thien commune, Dong Thap province, shared that the commune currently has about 2,000 hectares of durian trees. The durian trees are currently developing very well because they are suitable for the local soil, bringing very high economic efficiency. Specifically, in recent years, some households have harvested around 1 billion VND per hectare per year.

In the long term, the People's Committee of My Thien commune has planned and linked with businesses and cooperatives to create planting area codes, implement appropriate farming methods, and ensure safe use of pesticides to guarantee food safety in durian production, serving long-term and sustainable export.

In addition, growers are advised to apply appropriate farming techniques, focusing on safe use of pesticides and ensuring food safety and hygiene for durian products throughout the agricultural production process.

To further develop the strengths of specialty crops, the locality focuses on transferring intensive farming techniques and encouraging farmers to apply scientific methods comprehensively to achieve high yields and production. In particular, they emphasize staggered harvesting to coincide with off-season periods, avoiding peak harvesting during the main season to reduce the risk of bumper harvests, market gluts, and price drops.

In an effort to capitalize on the opportunity of exporting durian officially to China and other international markets, Dong Thap province will focus on developing concentrated production areas for key crops, granting them planting area codes with traceability to meet export requirements.

In addition, the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Dong Thap province continues to accelerate the process of establishing and issuing new planting area codes for key crops with export potential, achieving the plan set for 2026; actively maintaining the monitoring of issued planting area codes to meet export needs and improve efficiency in linking and consuming agricultural products in planting areas.

Source: Vietnam.vn