Mango Value Chain in Mekong River Delta to Comply with International Quality and Standards

The assessment is part of the four-month inception phase of the project “Increase quality and standards compliance capacity of Mango value chain in Mekong River Delta” which is implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) in collaboration with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). The Project is funded by Switzerland through the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).

The Project aims to improve the competitiveness and the compliance capacity of all the stakeholders in the mango value chain in order to access markets with higher values in terms of quality and standards, to diversify the export markets, and to increase the volume of mango exports as well as to ensure the sustainability of the mango value chain.

Vietnam is the 13th biggest mango producer worldwide with a total mango growing area of 87,000 hectares and an output of over 969,000 tons per year. Mango is one of Vietnam’s key tropical fruits. 48% of the total mango growing areas are in the Mekong River Delta. Currently, mango is mainly consumed domestically and only 4% of mango production is exported, leaving Vietnam behind the 10 top mango exporters. Therefore, there is a potential for Vietnam to increase its mango exports.

Mr Nguyen Quoc Toan, Director General of the Agro Processing and Market Development Authority, MARD stressed the significant contribution of the project to Vietnam’s mango production and exports. He said: “There is a big chance for Vietnam to develop its fruit production as demand for fruits and vegetables on the world market increases by 2.88 per cent every year (according to FAO forecast for 2021). The increase of quality and standards of the mango value chain in the Mekong River Delta constitutes an important step for Vietnam to achieve its goal of fruit exports for higher value. The Project will also play a strategic role in the delivery of Vietnam’s SDGs through sustainable rural agricultural development. It is a key driver to employment and prosperity of our farmers and workers in the agro-industries.”

UNIDO Project Manager Mr Nima Bahramalian stated that the project is a systematic approach to strengthening the quality and standards compliance capacity for SMEs through improving capacity of enterprises to meet market requirements, enhancing quality infrastructure to verify compliance with standards and regulation, and lastly facilitating public and private dialogue to ensure coordinated efforts at all levels to achieve targets.

He emphasized that “The Project’s contribution should be seen as a catalysing element that triggers necessary actions by variety of stakeholders at policy, institutional and industry level to make possible transformation towards a highly competitive and sustainable mango industry that creates fair share of benefits for all people involved”.

The Head of the Swiss Cooperation Office in Vietnam, Mr. Marcel Reymond, reaffirmed the commitment of the Government of Switzerland to support inclusive and sustainable economic growth to improve the lives of Vietnamese people. He said: “SECO supports Vietnam’s private sector, in particular SMEs, to improve competitiveness and gain access to international markets. SECO does this through strengthening the value chains of different commodities and sectors. Through this project, Switzerland contributes to the agricultural transformation in Vietnam.” 

The Vietnam Project is part of the Global Quality and Standards Programme (GQSP) which is a strategic partnership between UNIDO and the Government of Switzerland to promote trade and competitiveness through strengthening the quality and standards compliance capacity of SMEs to facilitate market access.

For detailed information about the Project, contact:

Ms Hoang Mai Van Anh, Programme Officer, UNIDO Vietnam, Email: v.hoang-mai@unido.org