Hoà Lộc mango trees in Tiền Giang Province’s Cái Bè District. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Trí

TIỀN GIANG — The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Tiền Giang is creating favourable conditions for farmers to join hands and grow its speciality Hoà Lộc mango to improve quality and value.

The country’s largest fruit producing province has many speciality fruits that are both sold domestically and exported like these mangoes and durian.

It has nearly 300ha under the Hoà Lộc variety with an average yield of 12-18 tonnes per hectare per year.

The variety originated in Cái Bè District and is grown mostly in the district’s 13 communes.  

Đặng Văn Tung, deputy head of the Cái Bè District Division of Agriculture and Rural Development, said to develop Hoà Lộc mango, the district and provincial agencies have support policies for farmers.

They have helped establish co-operatives and co-operative groups to enable farmers to come together and grow the fruit in large quantities and with consistently high quality.

The district has two co-operatives, Hoà Lộc and Mỹ Lương, and the Tân Thanh Mango Co-operative Group, who together grow a total of 60ha of these mangoes.

Hoà Lộc’s members have a total of 20ha under the mango that they grow to Vietnamese and global good agricultural practices (VietGAP and GlobalGAP) standards.

It has invested in a warehouse and packing facilities to ensure quality, reduce post-harvest losses and increase the fruit’s shelf life and value. 

Its Hoà Lộc mangoes have been granted a collective brand name by the National Office of Intellectual Property.

The office has also granted a geographical indication (GI) certificate to the province for the Hoà Lộc mango.

The province has promoted the GI to increase the value of the fruit at home and abroad. It is exported to markets such as the US, Canada, Japan, Singapore, and China.

Tung said Cái Bè District is encouraging more farmers to grow Hoà Lộc mango to GAP standards, use advanced techniques and link up with companies to secure outlets and steady prices.

The Cái Bè District Agriculture Services Centre is implementing a plan to certify elite Hoà Lộc mango orchards in the district, he said.

It is managing production codes for a total of 71.1ha of mango growing areas, he added.

To get a code, a mango growing area should be a minimum of 10ha and comply with VietGAP or other equivalent standards. 

It also needs to maintain a cultivation diary for origin traceability and follow regulations on pesticide use. — VNS