The country will export a first batch of ruby plums to Hong Kong this week at VND400,000 ($17) a kilogram, nearly double the domestic price.

Nguyen Ngoc Huyen, CEO of agriculture and fruit import/export company Mia Group, said Hong Kong had great potential as their consumers loved the Vietnamese plums.

The ruby plum season runs from mid-May to the end of June.

“We plan to ship one ton a week to Hong Kong until the plum season ends,” Huyen said.

The ruby plums are harvested from old plum gardens in the Na Ka valley of Moc Chau district in Son La province.

Plums harvested in the gardens will be sorted, then packaged and sent to sellers within the day by air.

Ha Nhu Hue, Son La province’s director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the province expected to harvest 89,000 tons of plum this year, with the ruby variety accounting for about one-third.

VnExpress