The first ton of fresh Vietnamese longan exported to Japan by air will arrive at its destination this week, affirming the quality of Vietnam's agricultural products in the world.

Vietnam will export up to 1,200 tons of fresh longan by sea and air to Japan. Photo: Ngoc Anh/The Hanoi Times

The batch of fresh longan was shipped from Long An Province by Hoang Phat Fruit Company, which exports mango, papaya, grapefruit, and mangosteen to China, Australia, South Korea, Singapore, and several European countries.

From now on, the company will export up to 1,200 tons of fresh longan annually by sea and air to Japan.

To sell the longan fruit in Japan, the Vietnamese exporter has passed numerous rigorous evaluation processes by the Japanese side, including obtaining a planting zone code and factory code, using no chemicals of any kind, and ensuring a cold treatment process at 1.3 degrees Celsius in 13 days under the supervision of Japanese experts.

With a population of more than 126 million, Japan has a high demand for agricultural products, seafood, and other imported foods, which are the strengths of Vietnamese exports.

The Plant Protection Department, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, is working on granting new planting and packaging area codes and food safety regulations to increase longan production for the Japanese market. 

Currently, Vietnam has more than 80,000 hectares of longan cultivation, giving an output of 600,000 tons annually. However, only about 2,000 hectares and three processing and packaging factories have obtained planting codes and can export to Japan.

With the initial success in the Japanese market, Vietnam is expected to continue promoting the export of longan to many high-end markets, improving the value and efficiency of domestic production.

So far, five Vietnamese fruit varieties authorized for export to the Japanese market are dragon fruit, mango, litchi, banana, and fresh longan, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.