The dragon fruit is an exotic temptation to the palate, the pride of Mekong Delta in Vietnam, the only place on earth where it can thrive agronomically. It is also highly nutritious: rich in potassium and iron, it boasts more protein, fibre, sodium and calcium than many of its competitors on the supermarket shelves.

Singaporeans love the dragon fruit and so do the visitors to the island republic-they can't get enough of it. That means it has great potential as an export item in other markets not only in Asia-is now exported also to Hong Kong and Taiwan-but in Europe and North America as well. But if it has to travel long distances to get those markets, there could be problem because its shelf life is not that long.

Help is on the way, however, in the form of a cooperation programme called Quality Assurance Systems for ASEAN Fruits Fresh and Minimally Processed (OASAF) project. Within the framework of this project, the Post Harvest Technology Institute (PHTI) of Vietnam, in cooperation with other agencies in the country, is undertaking a series of technical studies on the dragon fruit.

One study is aimed at determining a feasible storage method to prolong the shelf life of the dragon fruit. Early findings indicate that this could be extended by as much as 40 days. The marketing implication of this is tremendous:

once the method is fully developed, the fruit could be exported to other continents without having on prohibitively expensive air transport.

In the spirit of ASEAN cooperation, the Government of Singapore, through its Primary Production Department, has also assisted the Government of Vietnam in conducting a laboratory study to determine the chemical composition and microbial contaminants of the dragon fruit.

The study not only established that the fruit is extraordinarily nutritious, it proved that the pesticide residues in the edible and non-edible parts of the fruit are neglible and that the microbial contents of its edible parts are as well within safe limits, These findings, too, bear highly favourable marketing implications.

Through seminars, field demonstrations and publications, the PHTI is disseminating information on storage, minimal processing and processing of fruits and other post-harvest technologies to farmers, traders and cooperatives.

Under the QASAF project, the PHTI is upgrading its laboratories through procurement of modern scientific equipment. Members of its staff have also been undergoing training given by Australian experts made available through the project.