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First tons of lychees irradiated in Hanoi for export to Australia

By Toan Dao June 23, 2016 | 06:00 pm PT

The Hanoi Irradiation Centre (HIC) on June 23 irradiated the first two tons of lychees which are to be shipped to Australia.

About 10 more tons of lychees will be irradiated before exporting to Australia this weekend, the Vietnamplus reported Thursday, citing HIC director Nguyen Quang Trieu.

Around 100 tons of lychees are expected to be irradiated at the HIC this year.

first-tons-of-lychees-irradiated-in-hanoi-for-export-to-australia

The first tons of lychees to Australia. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh

The HIC, which got the official certification from Australia’s Department of Agriculture and Water Resources on June 20, is currently capable of irradiating 20-30 tons of fruit each day.
Irradiation is a safe technology that helps kill bacteria and micro-organisms and keeps fruit fresh for longer periods, even up to a few months.

Before HIC is operational, farmers in Luc Ngan - a small district in Bac Giang Province, just north of Hanoi- must travel across the country to Ho Chi Minh City in the south to get the tropical fruit irradiated for export to demanding markets such as Australia.

The centre has helped lychee exporters save transport costs and time rather than shipping lychees to the south for irradiation treatment, said Dam Quang Thang, Director of Agricare Vietnam – one of the two companies that are having lychees irradiated at the HIC.

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