Specifically, the Trade Office has accompanied enterprises to ship 2,000 fresh sap coconuts from Tra Vinh Province to Australia for consumption. After a short time waiting on customs clearance, the importer said that all the produce had been distributed.
Previously, Tra Vinh sap coconut was exported to Australia in small quantities, mostly frozen. This is the first time that 2,000 fresh sap coconuts have been exported by air.
The shipment is the result of efforts made by Uu Dam Company and the Vietnam Trade Office in Australia towards the realisation of a programme on enhancing the branding and value of Vietnamese agricultural products in Australia.
With a retail price of AUD30-35 per each coconut, Tra Vinh sap coconuts are high value items, therefore, the Trade Office has deployed advertising on social media and is releasing a publication introducing cuisine made from sap coconut combined with other Vietnamese fruits to further popularise Vietnamese products in Australia.
Sap coconut, a specialty with soft, thick pulp, is grown only in Cau Ke District, the southern province of Tra Vinh where the soil is suitable for it. The variety has soft and thick pulp and is used mostly for desserts like coconut shakes and flesh mixed with milk, sugar and ice.
A mature sap coconut tree can produce 120-150 nuts a year, but only 40-50% have the soft and thick pulp that qualify them as sap, and the remaining have normal pulp.
