Vietnamese exporters has been given permission to export dragon fruit to the US for irradiation.

Exporters can now choose whether to irradiate the fruit in the US orin Vietnam. Irradiation technology protects fruits and vegetables bykilling harmful pests and diseases, keeping them fresh up to 30 days.

The first shipments of dragon fruit from Vietnam are approved for arrival in the US on September 20.

Nguyen Huu Dat, Director of the Post Import Quarantine Centre under thePlant Protection Department, the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment, said dragon fruit was the first and only fruit to beexported from Vietnam to the US for irradiation so far.

He explained the unprecedented allowance resulted from the strongreputation for quality that Vietnam's dragon fruit enjoys in the US.

Dat said that this was an opportunity to promote andexpand the market for Vietnam's dragon fruit because meeting USrequirements means Vietnam's dragon fruit will be likely to satisfy therequirements of any country.

Earlier this year, the USPatent and Trademark Office (USPTO) granted a patent to the dragon fruitgrown in the central province of Binh Thuan, recognising thebrand name and image of Binh Thuan's dragon fruit.

Therecognition from a prestigious US office will help Binh Thuan's DragonFruit carve out a niche among fastidious US consumers.

Binh Thuan province is now at the peak of its harvest time, and theprice of the fruit has increased between 30 and 40 per cent compared tothe same period last year.

India and Thailand were also given permission to export dragon fruit to the US for irradiation.-VNA