While getting Vietnamese mangoes approved for shipment to the US was a roaring success, local exporters are not resting on their laurels.

Illustrative photo (Source: nld.com.vn)

Phan Thi Thu Hien, Director of the Post-Import Plant Quarantine Centre II under the Plant Protection Department, said all batches of mangoes exported by 12 local enterprises since April have met US regulations. However, a few Hoa Loc mangoes went off quickly due to the inexperience of the businesses.

Shipping fresh food to remote markets is always a challenge due to the damage cause by transportation, preservation and sales, so there is no need to worry about progress in this new market, according to Hien.

So far, about 130 tonnes of mangoes have been exported to the US from five provinces and cities. Of which, 80 tonnes have been exported by the Vina T&T Import Export Trading Service Co, Ltd based in Ho Chi Minh City.

Besides shipping by air, the company had shipped two batches by sea, Nguyen Dinh Tung, Vina T&T general director said. The first batch reached supermarkets in the US in good condition after 23 days at sea.

Ngo Tuong Vy, Deputy Director of Chanh Thu Fruit Import and Export Company Limited in Ben Tre province, the first company to export mangoes to the US, said the firm had so far shipped about 50 tonnes.

She said the company had temporarily reduced export volume due to seasonal issues and competition with cheap Mexican mangoes.

The company had difficulties in preservation, leading to high loss rate so it needed to continue improving technology before exporting more at the end of this year, the high season for consumption, Vy said.

Moc Phat Import Export Co, Ltd based in HCM City had exported four tonnes of fresh mangoes to the US, said Vuong Dinh Khoat, Moc Phat’s Chairman of the Board of Members. The company also halted temporarily exports to this market because of the fierce competition in the market.

"Businesses do not need to export in large quantities, it is more important to be efficient," Khoat said.

Khoat, who is also the Chairman of Toan Phat Irradiation Co, said his company was waiting to join an irradiation programme for fresh fruits exported to the US so Moc Phat’s export mangoes must be irradiated by another company.

When in operation, the Toan Phát Irradiation Co, Ltd would cut cost of irradiation service for Vietnamese fruits because now, only Son Son Company irradiated fresh fruits.

According to Le Van Thiet, Deputy Director of the Plant Protection Department, the US is an important market for Vietnamese fruits so if local companies don't meet import requirements, the risk of losing the market will be very high.

The department has encouraged enterprises to comply with regulations to keep the reputation of Vietnamese fruits. Now, pomelos and fresh avocados are under negotiation to be exported to the US.

Meanwhile, Vy said Vietnamese mangoes would need a lot of promotional activities among American consumers to increase their competitiveness over mangoes from Thailand and Mexico.