On 29th of March, the Prince of Orange and Princess Maxima visited a Dutch-Vietnamese business event in Ho Chi Minh City.
During this evening Vietnam based entrepreneurs Irmen Mantingh and Siebe van Wijk offered the royal couple the delicious Vietnamesepomelo (Citrus Maxima) which their company The Fruit Republic exports. Princess Maxima told Siebe that she already was a big fan of the Vietnamese pomelo, which she ate every morning at breakfast during her Vietnam tour. She was pleasantly suprised to hear from Siebe how high the Vitamin C content of pomelo is, and that an average Vietnamese family will eat about 10-12 fruits per week.
Besides it great taste, Vietnamese consumers also love pomelo because they believe it helps to reduce cholestorol. Siebe explained Princess Maxima that his company has developed a succesful year round pomelo export chain to Europe and works with more then 250 contract farmers. Princess Maxima and Siebe briefly discussed how a micro-credit program could be developed for the Vietnamese pomelo farmers. The Vietnamese pomelo is considered by pomelo lovers to be the best tasting pomelo of Asia and is being exported by The Fruit Republic to many destinations in Europe and Asia under the brand names: Grando, Wildboi and Meko Star. In Western Europe, Grando pomelo is imported by Hillfresh bv.
