Hanoi (VNA) - Mangoes grown in Yen Chau district, the northern mountainprovince of Son La, began being exported to the US, UK, Australian and Chinesemarkets on June 1.

Speaking at a ceremony to announce the export of its speciality to the four keymarkets, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Hoang Van Chat said theevent will help promote Son La mangoes in other markets around the world.

This is the first time Son La mangoes have been exported to the US and UK, twoselective markets with strict criteria.

The ceremony was part of the Yen Chau Mango Festival 2019 held from May 31 to June 2 with booths introducing local agricultural and handicraft products, as well as various activities including a mango harvesting contest.

The province sold 15,000 tonnes of mangoes in the first five months of theyear. The export volume was more than 2,500 tonnes.

With about 15,700ha of mango farms, output is expected to reach about 35,500tonnes this year, of which the volume eligible for export will be more than7,500 tonnes. These numbers mark significant growth compared to 2018.

Son La is the fifth locality in the country following Dong Thap, Vinh Long, AnGiang and Tien Giang and the first in the north to export mangoes to these highpotential markets.

Vietnamese mangoes have been exported to 40 countries and territoriesworldwide, including Japan, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan (China), the EU,Australia, the US, the UK and Canada. It is the sixth fruit of Vietnam to beexported to the US, after dragon fruit, rambutan, longan, lychee and starapple.

The agriculture sector gained a trade surplus of 3.3 billion USD in the firstfive months of this year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment.

The nation achieved an export value of 16.1 billion USD from agricultural,forestry and aquatic products during the period, a year-on-year increase of 1.2percent, including 3.6 billion USD in May.

The sector spent 12.8 billion USD on agricultural, forestry and fishery importsin the first five months, up 2.1 percent over the same period last year. Ofwhich, imports of fertilisers, pesticides and key agricultural products reachedabout 10.8 billion USD, up by 2.7 percent year-on-year.

However, the key agricultural product exports were estimated at 7.7 billion USD,down 9.5 percent over the same period. - VNA