Turn mac mat into a specialty fruit

- Currently, in the province, people are actively harvesting mac mat to sell to traders and mac mat purchasing facilities for preliminary processing. Thanks to that, it has contributed to diversifying products, increasing value and increasing income for people in the area.

People of Binh Gia commune dry mac mat fruit.

With its unique climate and soil, Lang Son mac mat fruit has its own unique flavor that cannot be found anywhere else. This is also an indispensable ingredient in the culinary culture of the ethnic groups in Lang Son. According to statistics, the whole province currently has about 350 hectares of mac mat, which are mainly grown by people at the foot of limestone mountains, concentrated in the communes of Na Sam, Van Quan, Binh Gia... Every year, the mac mat fruit output reaches from 4,000 to 5,000 tons of fruit.

In addition to using fresh fruit in culinary processing, to contribute to increasing the value and creating stable output for mac mat fruit, recently, a number of establishments and cooperatives in the province have joined together to purchase mac mat fruit for preliminary processing and processing into a variety of products for long-term preservation.

Ms. Vuong Thi Thuong, Director of Toan Thuong Agricultural Cooperative, Zone 5, Na Sam Commune, said: For about 6 years now, every year I have purchased macadamia nuts from people in the communes of Na Sam, Hoang Van Thu, Van Quan... From 2023 to now, on average each year the Cooperative purchases over 120 tons of fresh macadamia nuts from people. This year's macadamia crop, our Cooperative started purchasing from around mid-June. Up to now, the Cooperative has purchased over 60 tons of fresh fruit with prices ranging from 5,000 to 7,000 VND/kg. The mac mat season only lasts about 2 months, so to preserve it for long-term use and transport it far away, the cooperative has pre-processed and processed it into products: dried mac mat, dried mac mat seeds, etc. In addition, to increase the value of mac mat fruit, this year, the cooperative has also researched and launched a dried mac mat product with the main ingredients being mac mat fruit, ginger and honey.

Not only at Toan Thuong Agricultural Products Cooperative, for the past 4 years, Tran Quy Cooperative, Van Quan commune has also purchased fresh mac mat fruit from people in the communes of Van Quan, Diem He, Yen Phuc... for preliminary processing. Ms. Luong Thi No, Director of the Cooperative, said: Depending on the needs of customers for dried mac mat products, the Cooperative will purchase fresh fruit from people to dry or dry. On average, each year, the Cooperative purchases from 20 to 30 tons of fresh fruit, with five units purchasing over 40 tons of fruit. Since the beginning of the season, the Cooperative has purchased over 12 tons of fresh fruit for drying. Currently, the Cooperative is continuing to coordinate with specialized units to complete the dossier to build the Cooperative's dried mac mat product into an OCOP product (One Commune One Product program) in 2025 as planned.

According to preliminary statistics, the whole province currently has nearly 10 cooperatives and facilities that purchase fresh mac mat from people to pre-process, process and make spices for typical culinary dishes of Lang Son. These cooperatives and purchasing facilities, in addition to using fresh fruit as spices for typical culinary dishes, also pre-process and process into a variety of products such as: dried mac mat, salted mac mat, soft-dried mac mat, dried mac mat seeds, ginger honey mac mat... with characteristic flavors. In addition, some households after harvesting also proactively dry them to sell to purchasing facilities. Pre-processing and processing into a variety of products has helped mac mat growers have a stable output; contributing to increasing the value of mac mat fruit by 5 to 7% compared to selling fresh fruit.

Mr. Pham Tuyen, Head of the Department of Quality, Processing and Market Development, Department of Agriculture and Environment, said: Mac mat is a typical crop of the province, which has been granted a certificate of geographical indication registration. Along with brand protection, promoting preliminary processing, processing, and product diversification not only increases value but also promotes the formation of concentrated production areas. In the coming time, the Department of Agriculture and Environment's staff office will organize training on knowledge on ensuring food hygiene and safety and orient cooperatives and mac mat fruit processing facilities; increase support for connecting, promoting, and introducing products processed from mac mat fruit...

It can be seen that the investment in preliminary processing and processing of mac mat fruit as well as other typical agricultural products of the province has created certain efficiency. However, compared to the potential and strengths of the province, the preliminary processing and processing facilities are still few and have not met the requirements. It is thought that in the coming time, the relevant authorities and branches need to continue to pay attention, promote, support and attract units and enterprises to invest in processing agricultural products, including mac mat fruit, which is very typical of Lang Son province, thereby contributing to increasing the value of agricultural production.

Source: https://baolangson.vn/nang-gia-tri-qua-mac-mat-5053262.html