Vietnam may earn 4.7 billion USD from fruit, veggie exports in 2018

Hanoi (VNA) – Fruits and vegetables may earn the country 4.7 billion USD this year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. 

Dragon fruits packaged for exports (Photo: VNA)

The Ministry said it will continue encouraging farmers across the country to replace rice in areas producing low output with other crops of higher economic value such as fruit trees, vegetables or flowers.  

The Ministry will also push for the use of high-quality seeds and seedlings along with advanced farming technology in agriculture to improve the value and competitiveness of domestic farm produce. 

Vietnam earned over 2 billion USD from exporting fruits and vegetables in the first half of 2018, a year-on-year rise of 19.7 percent.

During the period, Vietnamese fruit and vegetable exports to the largest markets registered high growth, with China ranking first as the country imported 1.2 billion USD worth of products, an annual increase of 18.1 percent.

The US came second with 50.9 million USD, up 14.6 percent. It was followed by Japan with 46.7 million USD, up 8 percent; the Republic of Korea with 46.5 million USD, up 15.4 percent; and Thailand with 26.1 million USD; up 26.3 percent.

At present, China remains Vietnam's top export market, accounting for 74.6 percent of the latter's fruit and vegetable export turnover in the first five months.

The result is attributed to the similarity in demand, habits and consumer taste and close geographical distance between Vietnam and China. However, requirements for product quality of the Chinese market are increasing as the common trend of the world.

 Last year, Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable export value exceeded 3.5 billion USD. The sector is striving to reach a year-on-year growth of 10-15 percent this year, or around 4 billion USD.