Hoang Phat Co., Ltd. on Tuesday exported the first 10 tons of fresh longan from Vietnam’s Long An province to Japan. The fruit is being transported by air and will hit shelves at Japanese supermarkets on Saturday. Each month, Hoang Phat will supply about 70-100 tons of fresh longan by sea and by air to Japan.
The product packed in Long An province is the Indo longan variety, which is grown from the associated raw material areas in Vinh Long and Dong Thap.
To be exported to Japan, Vietnamese longan must go through many rigorous evaluation processes, being granted a planting area code, factory code by Japan, having no chemical residues, and ensuring all the processes under Japanese expert supervision.
The Plant Protection Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is working on further granting planting area codes, packing area codes and food safety regulations to increase longan production for the Japanese market.
Le Van Thiet, Deputy Director of Plant Protection Department, said: “In the near future, we will expand the number of growing areas as well as packing facilities and cold processing facilities to enable businesses to participate in the export of longan. This will contribute to raising the value of longan and Vietnam's fresh fruit in general on the world market.”
Four types of Vietnamese fruits exported to the Japanese market include dragon fruit, mango, litchi, and fresh longan.