(HBO) – After the red-flesh pomelo of Tan Lac district and the Dien pomelo of Yen Thuy district, the orange from Cao Phong district of Hoa Binh province is now officially put up for sale in the UK, marking the return of this specialty to the global market after over 40 years.
Seven tonnes of the Cao Phong orange has been officially imported
into the UK.
To enter the British market, the nearly 7 tonnes
of Cao Phong orange, exported via the official channel by the Hoa Binh-based
RYB joint Stock Company, met strict quality, food safety, and origin standards,
including passing the testing for nearly 900 chemical elements in plant
protection products.
The fruit, imported by the Longdan group, is
sold at the Longdan supermarket chain in London and some other cities in the
UK. It is also distributed to other local wholesalers and retailers of Asian
products, initially winning positive assessment from local consumers.
In February, Longdan, the biggest importer of
Vietnamese goods in the UK, also purchased over 5 tonnes of the red-flesh
pomelo farmed in Tan Lac district and 11 tonnes of the Dien pomelo farmed in
Yen Thuy district of Hoa Binh province. This was also the first time the citrus
of the two varieties cultivated in Hoa Binh had been officially exported to the
UK.
The Cao Phong
orange has been highly valued by many consumers.
Nguyen Canh Cuong, Trade Counsellor of Vietnam’s
Trade Office in the UK, said the successful export of pomelo and orange has
shown Vietnamese producers and exporters’ breakthrough progress in meeting
quality and Global GAP production standards.
The UK has great demand for orange and pomelo,
especially orange, he said, noting that it imports about 420 tonnes of orange
worth some 263 million GBP (315 million USD) each year, mainly from Spain,
South Africa, Morocco, and Egypt.
While most of Vietnam’s fresh fruits exported to
the UK such as lychee, mango, and dragon fruit face some preservation
difficulties, orange and pomelo can be kept for a longer time thanks to their
characteristics, especially pomelo which needs a certain period between harvest
and consumption to generate the best taste.
However, Cuong added, though the Cao Phong
orange and Dien pomelo have high quality to imported rivals in the UK,
businesses should pay attention to prices to stay competitive and expand their
market share there.
The Cao Phong
orange is put up for sale besides the green-skin pomelo, red-flesh pomelo, and
Dien pomelo of Vietnam at a Longdan supermarket.
The Trade Counsellor noted as the Vietnamese
orange and pomelo are new products here, the firms also need to have
appropriate marketing strategies, especially digital marketing, to introduce
them to local consumers. This is a global trend that Vietnamese businesses
should apply as soon as possible in such a developed market as the UK that is
relatively far from Vietnam.
Luke McWatters, a consumer in London, said the
Cao Phong orange is much sweeter than other types of imports. He used to spend
a holiday in Vietnam and taste many delicious fruits that haven’t been sold in
the UK. He expressed his hope that Vietnam will export more fresh fruit to the
UK in the furture so that British consumers can enjoy its quality produce.
The Cao Phong
orange displayed and introduced to British consumers.
Once a mountainous province facing many challenges, Hoa Binh has, after more than a decade of implementing the national target programme on new-style rural area development, emerged as a bright spot in Vietnam’s northern midland and mountainous region. In the first quarter of 2025, the province recorded positive results, paving the way for Hoa Binh to enter a phase of accelerated growth with a proactive and confident mindset.
Hoa Binh province is steadily advancing its agricultural sector through the adoption of high-tech solutions, seen as a sustainable path for long-term development.
The steering committee for key projects of Hoa Binh province convened on May 14 to assess the progress of major ongoing developments
A delegation of Hoa Binh province has attended the "Meet Korea 2025" event, recently held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea (RoK) in Vietnam, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, and the People's Committee of Hung Yen province.
Hoa Binh province joined Vietnam’s national "One Commune, One Product” (OCOP) programme in 2019, not simply as a mountainous region following central policy, but with a clear vision to revive the cultural and agricultural values in its villages and crops.
From just 16 certified products in its inaugural year to 158 by early 2025, the One Commune One Product (OCOP) programme in Hoa Binh province has followed a steady and strategic path. But beyond the numbers, it has reawakened local heritage, turning oranges, bamboo shoots, brocade, and herbal remedies into branded, market-ready goods - and, more profoundly, transformed how local communities value and present their own cultural identity.
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