Successful first pilot export of mango to Australia using SOPs: Confidently sailing the sea

Exporting fresh fruits from Viet Nam to high-value markets is the target for many exporters to increase the economic value of these products. In Australia, the demand for a mango when its mango season has far passed offers many exporting opportunities for countries with counter-seasonal production to this country. 

Exporting mangoes from Vietnam, however; has been either expensive when using air shipment or having preservation issues to stand the long duration of sea freight. Fresh mangoes used to be preserved for up to only 30 days with traditional preservation methods. 

A recent successful pilot demonstration supported by the Global Quality and Standards Programme (GQSP) Vietnam using Standard Operating Procedures - SOPs combined with hot water and post-harvest fungicide treatment has opened up new opportunities for mango producers and exporters in Vietnam. The preservation duration has increased from 30 days to a maximum of 40 days, allowing enough time for sea freight and distribution of the fruits through wholesale markets and retail stores.

For this consignment from Vina T&T Company, all of the fruit was decapped using the SOP methods. Hot water and post-harvest fungicide treatment were used by the exporter under the technical advice of UNIDO, following SOP’s cooling practice.

Despite the delay in the arrival, there were no rots recorded on any of the audited fruits. The color and texture of the fruits were also preserved. Additionally, the mangoes had the incidence of sap burn at 3.3%, which is way below the common level of 30% of traditional practice export consignments.

“The consignment was successful with no disease coming across. This is a wonderful result. Although it had a chilling issue, we will be able to solve this in upcoming shipments by looking back at the system. Colleagues from the importing company in Australia are happy with it.” – said Peter Johnson, the UNIDO value chain technical expert working with Vina T&T for the demonstration.

GQSP Vietnam, funded by Switzerland through the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), in collaboration with the Sub-Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Post-harvest Technology (SIAEP) of Vietnam, has developed six SOPs based on good practices, addressing key areas and impediments within the existing mango export chains. With international and Vietnamese experts working closely with mango value chain actors, the SOPs development process also contributes to capacity building for the local institutions and agencies.

In the upcoming time, the project will continue to replicate the success of this demonstration to other mango exporters, developing technical and business skills needed for SMEs to meet the higher compliance requirements of high-value markets like Australia.