Binh Thuan dragon fruit granted geographical indication in Japan

Chance for a clear path to Japan

The Vietnamese Embassy in Japan has just announced that Japan has officially granted a Geographical Indication Certificate for Binh Thuan dragon fruit. After more than 3 years of filing, Binh Thuan dragon fruit has become the second Vietnamese product after Luc Ngan lychee to be granted a Geographical Indication Certificate in Japan.

According to Mr. Phan Van Tan, Deputy Director of Binh Thuan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, this fact means affirming the prestige of Binh Thuan dragon fruit in the Japanese market. There will be many more opportunities to promote and expand the export market for Binh Thuan dragon fruit.

Meanwhile, Mr. Bien Tan Tai, Deputy Director of Binh Thuan Department of Industry and Trade, said that this is only the first step to create a competitive advantage for dragon fruit in this market. The Binh Thuan Department of Industry and Trade will therefore assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with relevant units to implement a number of solutions in promoting the dragon fruit exportation to the Japanese market in the near future.

VietGAP is the minimum production standard

As stated by Mr. Bian Tan Tai, Japan is a strict market. Dragon fruit must be produced according to VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards, weighing 300 grams or more. Products must also comply with Japan's environmental sanitation law and go through animal and plant quarantine steps before entering this demanding market.

The entire consignment is treated with hot steam (heating) to eliminate fruit flies and increase product quality. All processing procedures are closely monitored by experts from Japan and Vietnam.

However, Binh Thuan province has yet an enterprise that directly exports dragon fruits to the Japanese market. The fruits are mainly sold to enterprises outside the province to process on demand and then export to Japan.

The province has more than 16,000 ha of dragon fruit recognized to meet VietGAP standards and more than 500 hectares of production according to GlobalGAP standards at the moment. According to Binh Thuan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the GAP-certified dragon fruit area in the province must reach 70% (over 20,000 ha) by 2025.

In order to achieve this goal, the agricultural sector will focus on communicating and supporting dragon fruit growers to transform production towards quality improvement; further usage and management of planting area codes; application of production procedures in the direction of VietGAP, GlobalGAP, food safety, HACCP, and organic farming. Binh Thuan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development will also guide cooperatives and businesses to equip product identification and traceability systems to perfect production (using QR Code stamps, electronic diary software, etc.).

According to Binh Thuan Department of Industry and Trade, the main export markets of Binh Thuan dragon fruit in Asia at the moment include Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, the Philippines, Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Qatar, India, and United Arab Emirates (UAE). Germany, Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand are also considered major export markets for Binh Thuan’s dragon fruit.

In the first nine months of 2021, the whole province has harvested over 532,000 tons of dragon fruit and is expected to harvest about 250,000 tons in the remaining three months of the year.