Weather conditions in Vietnam this year have not been ideal, and produce there has experienced erratic rainfall and sunlight. A Vietnamese mango exporter has seen more chemical residues and black spots on their fruit over the past two months, but they expect the quality to improve by the end of November.
Mr. Tran is the manager of MTAS, a Vietnamese fruit export company. “Our main varieties include Keo, Cat Chu, and R2E2. We supply the Cat Chu variety all year round, and market Keo and R2E2 varieties from September to May each year. R2E2 is the most popular variety in Vietnam, which has small kernels, medium sweetness, and unique aroma. The climate in Vietnam is helpful to its production. The hot and sunny weather kills bacteria, and the sunlight gives the fruit a very delightful red color,” Mr. Tran said.
"China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Russia are the main markets for MTAS. Currently, the FOB price for Keo is 8 US dollars per box (5 kg), and for Cat Chu and R2E2 is 12 US dollars per box (5 kg). These prices have risen within the past few months, but still very similar to the same period last year. China is the largest market for Vietnamese mangoes, absorbing 90% of Vietnam's R2E2 mango export. There are rumors that Cambodian mangoes may soon be allowed into China, but I don’t think this will pose a threat, as transportation will be a huge challenge for Cambodian importers, and thanks to our long trading history, Vietnamese mangoes are more well known among consumers in China. "
"We see increasing demand in the EU market, so we plan to start exporting R2E2 mangoes to the EU. Currently, we are signing contracts with several local orchards requiring them to adhere to the global GAP standards. The challenge we face is that most Vietnamese farmers harvest manually instead of using machines. Manual harvesting often leads workers being burned by urushiol-containing mango sap, which will have a negative impact on the fruit quality. We are instructing farmers to use harvesting machines like what Australian farmers are doing. In that way, we hope to raise the Vietnamese mango industry to a higher level. "
MTAS is a professional exporter of imported fruits from Vietnam. In addition to mangoes, they also export more than 30 products under the "VAS" brand. The company works with large-scale supermarket chains such as Coop-mart, Satra, and Aeon Citimart.
