From the remote country of Kangaroo, at the age of 60, Mr. John carried an Australian mango variety to the land of Khanh Hoa.

When recalling the beginning days of “starting work” in Khanh Hoa land, Mr. John confided: “through books, newspapers, I know that Viet Nam is one of some Asian countries planting mango, in which, there are a number of well - known mango varieties in the locality. At the end of 2002, when arriving in Vietnam, Dr. Nguyen Van Chau, head of Southern fruit tree Institute recommend me that if I intended to plant mango in Viet Nam, I should arrive at Cam Ranh, Khanh Hoa Province. It was the best area for mango to grow. Then, I right away decided to come here. And now I find it is the right decision.

After a time of land surveying, Mr. John has worked with Khanh Hoa High - tech Agriculture Center to experimentally plant 9 ha of mango at Suoi Dau, Dien Khanh District. At the beginning time, he has brought 2 mango varieties well - known in the international market - R2E2 (Mangiferaindica L.Var) and KP (Kensingtonpride) to Cam Ranh for planting.

The thing to mention is that all of nearly 100,000 breeding mango branches transported by plane from Australia to Vietnam had been grafted onto the local mango variety. Owing to the good care in accordance with the technological process, Vietnam - Australia mango trees grew quickly. There were mango trees that blossomed after only two years of planting.

He asked the local government for additional hectares in Khanh Vinh district to develop this kind of mango variety. Besides, he came to other areas in Cam Ranh town to popularize his country’s mango variety. Up to now, there have been lots of households experimentally planting in Cam Ranh, Dien Khanh, and Khanh Vinh with a total area of 30ha. In Mid May, 2006, 9ha of mango trees planted experimentally by Mr. John and Khanh Hoa High - tech Agriculture Center now bear good fruits.

Being deeply attached to Khanh Hoa Province

As above mentioned, in mid 2003, Mr. John worked with Khanh Hoa High - tech Agriculture Center to experimentally plant 9 ha of Australian mango trees at Suoi Dau area. The thing to mention is that he is the person who has financed the total initial expenses such as electricity pull, automatic irrigation system installation, seed supply worth hundreds of millions of VND.

It was quite a feat for him to carry out planting 100 ha of mango trees in Khanh Vinh District. Everybody was uneasy when they knew that he decided to come to the remote area – Khanh Vinh District to cultivate land for the plant. He said: “I want to prove that where there are good techniques applied, there are good results in planting Australian mango trees”.

Particularly, EMU Limited Company Vietnam has made a plan to set up a mango processing plant at Cam Duc, Cam Ranh town in order to expand Australian mango variety in Khanh Vinh area. The project has an area of 6.6ha with an invested capital of over one million USD including 5ha of model of encourage agriculture. The mango processing plant has been constructed and expected to complete in November 2006.

Besides, he is calling for financing for a plan to improve the technology of processing after harvest in Khanh Hoa Province. At the same time, he introduces his friends and partners to invest into Khanh Hoa Province (mainly in fruit trees).

Prospect for mango export in Khanh Hoa

The initial results show the greatest potential for growing Australian mango in Khanh Hoa. The area of mango trees planted at Suoi Dau farm by Khanh Hoa High - tech Agriculture Center since Mid June 2003 has now yielded an abundant crop while other peasants are worried about their poor mango crops. The vice director of Khanh Hoa High - tech Agriculture Center, Vo Ngoc Thai said: “we are very surprised to see them grow rapidly in this farm and give such an abundant crop. There are trees that bear 60 fruits with a weight of 0.5 – 1.2kg/fruit. He must admit that Australian mango variety planted in this region has the same quality and productivity as that planted in Australia and even has a better color than that in Australia.

This first mango crop has been exported to Germany, Singapore, and Hong Kong to make an offer. About a week before harvest, representatives of supermarkets in these countries had come right to this farm to inspect the work at various the stages such as growing, packing.

The fact that the EMU Company in Australia has numerous business relations with many countries in the world and that the mango season in Vietnam is different from that in Australia are the most favourable conditions for Australian mango output in Khanh Hoa.

The Company has worked with peasants to assure the purchase price of 5,000 – 8,000VND/kg. With an aim of expanding the area of mango trees in the locality, the company has a plan to lend mango seeds to farmers and collect money after they harvest their crops. In the long run when the material region is expanded, in addition to the mango packing line, the company will invest in mango processing such as mango juice, mango powder, mango cream, etc… Mr. John promises that his center will offer the technique support on growing and caring for mango trees to those farmers who want to grow Australian mango variety in the locality. The center now has enough mango breeding source to supply for the farmers.

The story about Mr. John who carried an Australian mango variety to the land of Khanh Hoa still remains interesting.