Lao noni juice to crack Chinese market
Lao noni juice to crack Chinese market
A major Chinese import company will come to Vientiane by end of this month to discuss purchasing Lao-made Nam Mak Yor, or noni juice.
Representatives of the company will meet with the noni juice producer, Ms Buathip Homchandee, after the two parties talked and signed an initial trade cooperation agreement at the 10th China Asean EXPO (CAEXPO) in China last year.
“Before the agreement was signed, we had initial cooperation for a year. The Chinese buyer often came to my house and bought some samples of my product to test the market in China,” Ms Buathip Homchandee said in an interview recently.
“According to the agreement the Chinese company wants to be the only supplier of my noni juice product in China,” Ms Buathip said. “It wants to buy all the noni juice my production capacity allows me to supply.”
She said the Chinese company will come to meet her by the end of this month to discuss the purchase agreement, along with other issues including payment.
The fresh noni juice will be processed and repackaged in China. “The buyer likes my products because they are still fresh and have a natural flavour and smell,” Ms Buathip said.
Director General of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce's Trade and Promotion Department, Mr Somvang Ninthavong, said noni juice is a One District One Product (ODOP) certified good made in Vientiane and the buyer was looking to pioneer the product in China.
The department has unveiled a new national ODOP plaque for the Nam Mak Yor production unit in Phonsavang village, Chanthabouly district.
The department helps local producers with marketing and takes them to participate in exhibitions overseas.
Ms Buathip said she and her family started their juice production in 2006, only producing noni juice. But now they are producing 17 different drinks made from noni, moringa and false tamarind.
She also plans to introduce another new false tamarind juice product in the next few months.
Samples are currently being tested at the Food and Drug Department before a quality certificate can be issued.
The noni fruit is known to provide many health benefits. It contains vitamin C, calcium, protein, magnesium, potassium, beta-carotene and all of the B vitamins. It has a strong smell and a bitter taste but has nutritional value.
It is an unusual-looking fruit that resembles a hand grenade with its lumpy texture. It grows in tropical locations on an evergreen shrub that bears the fruit year-round.
Noni juice is a product that many people are only just starting to hear about. Ms Buathip's juice is made from tropically grown noni fruit, which is also known as morinda citrifolia.
Noni juice is also believed to have a number of health benefits but these have not been scientifically proven.
Among the ailments some claim the juice can help with are headaches, migraines, menstrual pain and arthritis, cancer symptoms and high blood pressure.
It is also said to enhance the body's immune system, thus warding off diseases, colds and flu.
vientiane times
