Tra Vinh (VNA) - The Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh plans toimprove the value of its coconut products to boost farmers’ incomes and meetexport requirements in 2022-25 period.

A plan approved recently by its People’s Committee envisages attractinginvestment in coconut production and developing linkages between variousstakeholders in production and consumption.

With linkages, companies can secure supply of clean coconuts for processing andfarmers can have guaranteed outlets and incomes.

The province will assist the companies with making products to internationalstandards and meet the requirements of import markets, and have supportpolicies for small and medium-sized processors to enhance theircompetitiveness.

It will develop concentrated coconut growing areas to Vietnamese goodagricultural practices (VietGAP) and organic standards with guaranteed buyingof the produce by companies.

It will develop infrastructure for these areas and identify high-qualitycoconut varieties to be grown there, collaborating with Ben Tre province anduniversities for the latter.

It will research biological methods to manage coconut pests and diseases.

It will assist farmers and cooperatives with developing new coconut-growingareas and improving the quality of existing ones.

Tra Vinh is the country’s second largest coconut producer after neighbouring BenTre.

According to Le Van Dong, deputy director of its Department of Agriculture andRural Development, the province has nearly 90,000 households with around25,000ha of coconut farms that harvest 300 million nuts annually.

Coconuts are grown mostly in Cang Long, Tieu Can and Chau Thanh districts. Theprovince has 13 organic farming areas covering 4,012ha where four companiesfollow international standards.

It plans to double this area by 2025, with 6,000ha meeting internationalcertification norms.

It also aims to have at least 10 companies linking up with farmers to growcoconuts and process them for exports.

Some companies from Ben Tre have already linked with farmers in Tra Vinh togrow organic coconuts.

The Ben Tre Import and Export Joint Stock Corporation, for instance, has tiedup with farmers to grow 1,383ha of organic coconut meeting internationalstandards in Cang Long and Tieu Can districts.

Farmers get 10-20 percent higher for their nuts than if they grow usingtraditional methods.

This year Tra Vinh has undertaken promotion activities to persuade processorsin Ben Tre to expand investment in organic coconut cultivation and processing./.