An Giang (VNA) – After nearly 10 years ofnegotiating, dozens of tonnes of Vietnamese mangos farmed in the Mekong Deltaprovince of An Giang have been exported to Australia, the US and the Republicof Korea, which is a stepping stone for the product to enter more choosymarkets.

With 70% of its area being alluvial land, An Giang hasfavourable conditions to promote agricultural industry, which is a key pillar inthe local economic development.

Among major local agricultural products, mango has madegreat contributions to the growth of the province’s agricultural sector.

Currently, An Giang has 19,700 hectares of fruit farms, withnearly 12,633 hectares of mangos with an output of 225,000 tonnes per year. Majormango farming hubs of An Giang are Cho Moi district, with 6,400 hectares, andAn Phu 1,800 hectares.

Nguyen Si Lam, Director of the provincial Department ofAgriculture and Rural Development said that the province’s agricultural sectorpledges to assist local businesses, organisations and farmers in building a stablematerial region and developing a sustainable value chain to serve exports.

The province will speed up the granting of codes for mango farming areas to increase export volume, according to Lam.

An Giang will call on businesses to link up together in producing and sellingmangos, while encouraging farmers to engage in collective economy, enhancingthe efficiency of mango farming cooperatives, especially those meeting GlobalGAP standards and operating effectively, he said.

The official underlined that the province will increasecoordination between export processing facilities with cooperatives and cooperative groups to ship more processed products to choosy markets such as the US and Europe.

Meanwhile, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’sCommittee Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy said that the province will strengthen theapplication of science and technology in mango production, while renovating theproduction process towards safe, VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards, using biological,organic and microbial fertilisers.

Meanwhile, An Giang authorities will increase supervisionand inspection to control pesticide residue on mangos, and develop more planting area codes, the official underscored, adding that the efforts aim toensure quantity, quality, safety and traceability of mangoproducts for export./.