US$2 million expenditure on fruit imports per day

Vietnam imported more than US$164 million worth of fruit and vegetables during the first two months of this year with 70% of the figure coming from Thailand and China, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs

Accordingly, Vietnamese people spend nearly US$2.8 million each day on fruit and vegetable imports, including roughly US$2 million from Thailand and China.

Since early this year, Thailand has been the biggest supplier of fruit and vegetables for Vietnam with US$82.6 million, followed by China (US$31.6 million), Myanmar (US$15 million) and the US (US$13.2 million).

Despite being an agricultural nation, Vietnam imported a huge volume of fruit and vegetables during the two-moth period, thus driving import value up from US$200 million to close to US$1 billion.

Major import products are apples, oranges, pears, kiwis, cherries, mangoes, custard-apple, tamarind, cabbages, salad, and potatoes.

Meanwhile, Vietnam Customs reports that fruit and vegetable exports jumped 27% to US$421,000 against last year’s same period, primarily targeting the highly lucrative markets of China, Japan, Taiwan and Canada.