vn fruits 12av2

Tien Giant zones export fruitarea
(SGT- 26/3/2002)- The Mekong Delta provinceof Tien Giang will have 2,350 hectares of export fruits by 2005. Of the area, 700 hectareswill be newly-planted Hoa Loc mango and Lo Ren star apple while 1,650 hectares will be forrejuvenating the two trees.

Financed with US$1.7million by the Asian Development Bank, the plan will provide farmers with VND25 million orless to grow one hectare of the mango and a maximal VND 17 million to care for theexisting gardens, Nguyen Van Khang, director of the provincial agriculture service, said.

Hoa Loc mango is priced VND15,000 per kilo on average butup to VND25,000 some times," he said.

The service has assigned the province's agriculturepromotion center and some farmers to prepare seedlings for the plan. The center must teachfarmers how to cultivate the trees.

Tien Giang is one of Vietnam's largest fruit areas andharvested 420,000

tons of fruits worth VND1,200 billion last year.