A container truck transporting 15 metric tons of lotus roots left Dong Thap Province on Tuesday morning for Japan, marking the first batch of the product exported to the selective market by the southern Vietnamese province.

The Mekong Delta province held a ceremony to announce the first shipment of lotus roots to Japan the same day.

Nguyen Minh Thien, a representative of Dai Viet Lotus Foods JSC, said that the Japan-bound batch of frozen lotus roots is worth some VND980 million (US$38,755).

“The local exporter had spent two years negotiating with Japanese partners before getting their nod to import Vietnamese lotus roots," Thien said.

“The company has met all requirements related to origin, lotus growing conditions, and processing steps at its factory.”

The firm is set to ship lotus roots worth nearly VND7 billion ($276,460), equivalent to eight container trucks of roots, to the choosy market this year.

The company applied the individual quick freezing technology to process lotus roots before shipping the product to Japan.

The processed roots are able to be stored within two years.

The province is cultivating 1,800 hectares of lotus.

Each kilogram of lotus roots is priced at VND20,000 ($0.8).

Dong Thap Province will host the second Dong Thap lotus festival in Cao Lanh City, its capital, from May 16 to 19 to promote the value of lotus flowers and lure tourists.

The first fest took place in the province in May 2022.

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