The first batch of fresh Vietnamese dragon fruits was loaded on an Australia-bound flight on Tuesday, marking a new milestone in Vietnam’s quest to conquer new markets around the world for the tropical delicacy.

A ceremony was held the same day at the plant of the exporter, Hoang Phat Co. Ltd. in the southern province of Long An, attended by a Vietnamese deputy minister of agriculture and Karen Lanyon, Australian Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City.

Hoang Phat’s shipment was the first-ever batch of dragon fruits to be shipped to Australia after Canberra officially approved importation of the fruit in January this year.

“Today, after nine years of talks and completing paperwork, Vietnamese dragon fruit has for the first time been exported to the Australian market,” Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam said in the ceremony.

“Vietnam is by far the first and only country to be licensed to export fresh dragon fruit to Australia.”

Consul General Lanyon expressed her pleasure that this success also marks a new milestone in bilateral trade between Vietnam and Australia.

The diplomat revealed that she had tasted dragon fruit, and was happy that her family and friends back home are now able to enjoy this delicious fruit.

In Vietnam, dragon fruit is being grown in 32 provinces and cities, with all crops collectively spanning some 25,000 hectares and producing 460,000 metric tons a year, according to Deputy Minister Nam.

Long An, Binh Thuan and Tien Giang are the country’s dragon fruit hubs, where the fruit is exported to such major markets as China, South Korea and the US.

Vietnam shipped more than $895 million worth of dragon fruits last year, accounting for 50.3 percent of the total export turnover of fresh fruits.

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