Farmers in the southern province of Bình Thuận harvest dragon fruit. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoàng Trung Hiếu

HÀ NỘI — The Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) has granted a Geographical Indication (GI) certification for dragon fruit grown in the south central province of Bình Thuận of Việt Nam after three years the Bình Thuận Dragon Fruit Association had submitted the application for the status in Japan.

The protected status is hoped to be a "passport" for the trademark “Bình Thuận dragon fruit” to make inroads into the Japanese market, and at the same time affirms the prestige of the product.

It is also expected to offer new opportunities to Bình Thuận to promote export of dragon fruit to other markets, especially choosy markets such as Europe, the Republic of Korea, and New Zealand.

Đinh Hữu Phí, general director of the National Office of Intellectual Property under the Ministry of Science and Technology, emphasised that the GI certification for Bình Thuận dragon fruit has contributed to increasing the value, competitiveness and export advantage for Vietnamese products.

According to Phí, the GI certification allows Bình Thuận’s dragon fruit to gain a stronger foothold in the Japanese market. This is also an important milestone, paving the way for the promotion of applying for the protected status for Việt Nam’s other agricultural products in this fastidious market.

Dragon fruit of southern Bình Thuận province was awarded the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) certificate in Japan. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoàng Trung Hiếu

Bình Thuận is among the provinces producing the most dragon fruit in Việt Nam with an annual output of nearly 700,000 tonnes.

Earlier, Thiều lychee grown in Lục Ngạn District in the northern province of Bắc Giang was granted a GI certificate from the MAFF. — VNS