Dong Thap mango is very high in demand, creating many export opportunities

Good news for Dong Thap mango

Dong Thap Mango Week takes place from April 22 as part of the opening activity for "Dong Thap Mango Festival 2023" which will take place from April 28 to May 1, in order to support businesses, cooperatives, cooperative groups, as well as production facilities in the area to introduce the brand of mango products to consumers. This is an opportunity to expand the consumption market to meet the needs and tastes of domestic and foreign markets.

During the Mango Week, supermarkets have displayed varieties of mangoes, such as Cat Chu, Chu Vang, Hoa Loc, Taiwanese green-skinned mango. Mangoes are now also included in the modern distribution systems of Saigon Co.Op, the Central Retail Group in Vietnam, MM Mega Market Vietnam Company Ltd., Bach Hoa Xanh Trading Joint Stock Company.

MM Mega Market Vietnam Company Ltd. opened Dong Thap Mango Week on April 21, and the event will last until May 7, 2023. According to this business representative, with the goal of sharing with farmers in stabilizing prices and promoting consumption of clean fruit products, also the strength of Dong Thap province, MM Mega Market Vietnam commits to consuming approximately 150 tons for 5 main mango products, including Cat Hoa Loc mango, yellow and green Cat Chu mango, green-yellow-skinned Tuong mango with the best prices in the market.

The company also actively cooperate with more than 40 farmers and cooperatives in Dong Thap province in order to bring mangoes and mango products into the distribution system of the MM Mega Market Vietnam.

"After three days of putting mangoes into distribution systems, there have been very positive signs. There are currently many customers who go to supermarkets to buy Dong Thap mangoes. It is all thanks to the policy of the distributors, the quality of delicious mangoes and many other factors. Particularly in Dong Thap, the Department of Industry and Trade has prepared 25 tons of mangoes for the Dong Thap Mango Week, however, this quantity is probably not enough. This has shown a new direction to improve the position of Dong Thap mango," said Mr. Nguyen Huu Dung, Director of Dong Thap Department of Industry and Trade.

Dong Thap mango's next steps for development

The whole province of Dong Thap has more than 14,000 hectares of specialized mango cultivation, accounting for 33.7% of the province's total fruit tree area. The main mango varieties include Cat Chu, Cat Hoa Loc, Tuong green-skinned... Gardeners gradually use organic fertilizers. most of the fruits are covered to reduce the use of pesticides.

To meet the requirements of the mango export market, the whole province has nearly 8,228 hectares of mangoes with 296 planting area codes registered, and 9 packing establishments in the area have registered packing facility codes. 33 organizations and individuals were granted VietGAP certification on mango trees, with a total area of ​​353 hectares.

In 2019, for the first time, Dong Thap mangoes were exported to the US market, opening up great potential for Dong Thap mango industry in particular and Vietnam's mango industry in general. In addition to the USA, Dong Thap fresh mangoes are also exported to Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand. China in partcular is a fairly large consumption market.

In February 2022, Dong Thap People's Committee held a ceremony to announce the export of the first mango batch of Dong Thap to tNetherlands, with the amount of 3 tons of Cat Chu mangoes. The mango exporter that time was Vietnam Golden Gate Joint Stock Company and Westernfarm Company Limited (Cao Lanh district). Tinh Thoi Agricultural Service Cooperative (Cao Lanh City) was the supplier of mangoes for export.

In 2019, the National Office of Intellectual Property has granted a geographical indication certificate of "Cao Lanh" for mango products of Dong Thap. The planting area owning the geographical indication is concentrated in Cao Lanh district and Cao Lanh city. In 2021, Dong Thap piloted the model of granting the right to use geographical indications for mango products (granting support to two pilot units of 3,000 stamps, 200 boxes bearing geographical indications). This is considered an opportunity as well as a challenge for Dong Thap mango to affirm its reputation in the international market.

In addition to fresh products, many businesses and establishments in the province are promoting mango processing. The popular products include dried mango, followed by mango wine, mango ice cream, mango puff pastry. Cao Lanh mango is also a provincial-level OCOP product.

In 2022, the People's Committee of Cao Lanh city and Cao Lanh districtjointly organized Cao Lanh Mango Festival, attracting 300,000 visitors to visit and experience. Organized for the first time, the festival contributed to honoring the mango industry and products processed from mangoes, highlighting cultural and economic values, as well as promoting tourism and creating a local image. This has also become an opportunity to expand the consumption market for the mango industry - one of the five selected industries to restructure Dong Thap's agricultural sector.