The Mekong Delta is the largest coconut production area in Vietnam. Benefiting from its favorable geographical conditions, fruits in this area gain high Brix levels and coconuts from this region are rich in fat, with a crunchy taste and a naturally fresh flavor.
Besides maintaining their premier fruits’ quality, local producers and exporters are consistently introducing new varieties and packaging materials to the market. Their contributions help the sector reach a new level. True Fruits is a Vietnamese coconut supplier and exporter. Sales export manager Mary introduced the company’s recent development.
Organic production
“Consumers nowadays, and especially the younger generation, are increasingly concerned about the healthiness of the food they eat and are likely to choose organic products. To reach more younger customers, we started organic coconut production in a new area with local farmers.” Mary said. “The switch from traditional farming to organic farming requires long-term efforts. Our technicians have to go to local farms on a regular basis, teach local farmers how to shape the growing coconut tree, and develop cultivation techniques that involve organic fertilizers.”
At the end of the sale, the price of organic coconuts is always higher than the traditional ones. “We need to make sure the farmers are paid a fair price.”
Eco packaging concept
Besides organic farming, True Fruits is working on an eco-packing concept. “Every coconut is sold together with a stick (for opening the coconut) and straw (for drinking coconut water). We started to use a bamboo straw to replace plastic material. As for production, bamboo is easily accessible and the straws can be produced in large quantities with convenience. Although the cost of a bamboo straw is a bit more expensive than plastic (around 0.04 USD per straw), we want to work in an environmentally-friendly way, and we believe the use of bio-degradable material in the fruit industry will become a trend.”
This summer, True Fruits introduced a new ‘ready to drink brown coconut’ to the market. “The product contains 330 ml of coconut water, and the Brix level is as high as 5% and higher. The shelf life of the ‘ready to drink brown coconut’ is around 2 months. “We are very proud that Vietnamese coconuts can satisfy the most demanding customers’ requirements,” Mary said.
Besides coconuts, True Fruits also exports large volumes of a variety of tropical fruits such as pomelo, limes, and jackfruit.
Mary
True Fruits Co., Ltd.
Email: mary@truefruitsco.com
Phone: +84 (0)908 260 323
www.truefruitsco.com