Vietnam earns 1.7 billion USD from vegetable, fruit exports

Vietnamese lychees sold in Australia (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam’s export turnover of vegetables and fruits reached 283 million USD in June, bringing the figure in the first half of 2017 to 1.7 billion USD, up 45 percent from the same period last year.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, China, the US, Japan and the Republic of Korea remained the top four importers of Vietnamese vegetables and fruits, accounting for 85 percent of the total export value.

The country has enjoyed impressive growth in fruit and vegetable exports in some markets, including Russia (67 percent), Japan (56 percent), China (50 percent) and the US (23 percent), the RoK (15 percent) and Thailand (12 percent).

Recently, green mangoes grown in Son La province have been exported to Australia for the first time, opening up opportunities for agricultural production development, particularly fruit farming, in the northern mountainous region of Vietnam. 

Le Son Ha, Head of the Plant Quarantine under the Plant Protection Department, said five tonnes of mangoes will be exported to Australia weekly, adding that this gives a boost for Vietnam’s fruits to enter new markets.

He noted that the department is completing procedures to export lychees to Japan.

Vietnamese longan have been shipped to the US and will be available in Australia and New Zealand, while red and white dragon fruits are hoped to enter Australia this year.