The agriculture sector in the Mekong Delta supports farmers to find markets. — VNA/VNS Photo

MEKONG DELTA — The departments of Industry and Trade of Tiền Giang, Bến Tre and Long An provinces co-organised a conference to connect the supply and demand of goods with about 100 delegates from businesses, cooperatives and large distributors on August 25 in Tiền Giang Province.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Cần Thơ City, the city has more than 23,500 a of fruit trees, with an output of more than 168,250 tonnes annually. Many orchards help farmers achieve a profit of VNĐ200-800 million (US$8,150-32,600) per ha annually.

The types of fruit trees grown in Cần Thơ are quite diverse, including many delicious and specialty fruit trees such as durian, milk fruit, longan, orange, grapefruit, and Hạ Châu strawberries.

The city has established many concentrated fruit-growing areas for durian and Hạ Châu strawberries in Phong Điền District, longan in Ô Môn and Thới Lai districts and mango in Cờ Đỏ District.

The department has focused on building collective trademarks for various fruits such as mango and longan in Thới An Ward in Ô Môn, Hạ Châu strawberries in Nhơn Ái Commune in Phong Điền and durian in Tân Thới Commune to improve their value and help develop eco-tourism.

Nguyễn Văn Sử, its director, said the agricultural sector is helping farmers develop specialised areas for high-value fruits.

The department was focusing on improving quality, building brands and expanding effective farming models for fruits such as durian, milk fruit, longan, and mango.

It has strengthened linkages and coordination with businesses to build brands for fruits and enable them to apply processing and preservation technologies.

Thanks to its efforts, the city had successfully exported many fruits to demanding markets, especially Europe.

Nguyễn Quốc Trịnh, chairman of the Dragon Fruit Association of Long An Province, said the province has more than 17,800ha of dragon fruit, mango, watermelon, banana, and lemon. The output is nearly 400,000 tonnes per year.

They include 213 planting areas which have been granted codes for export to markets including Australia, New Zealand, the US, South Korea, and China.

In Tiền Giang Province, authorities are ready with a programme for the online distribution of agricultural produce.

They already support businesses with market information, export promotion and participation in fairs and conferences to link supply with demand and help them access markets and find partners in those markets. — VNS