Vegetable and fruit export set billion dollar export value record

Accordingly, in the first nine months of this year Vietnam earned $1.16 billion from vegetable and fruit exports, up 45.2 per cent on-year and overtaking the $1.1 billion earned in 2013.

China was the biggest importer, totalling $321.4 million, up 37.7 per cent on-year and making up 30 per cent of total export value. The primary fruit and veggie exports to China included mango, lychee, longan, banana, dragon fruit (thanh long), coconut and pineapple.

Japan came in second place with $56.2 million in export value, up 20.8 per cent.

South Korea ranked third with $43.6 million, but was the fastest growing, up 97 per cent in terms of export value, reported baohaiquan.vn.

According to the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association (Vinafruit) chairman Dinh Van Huong, big foreign markets like Japan, Korea, the US and Australia are increasingly interested in Vietnamese vegetables and fruits.

For example, apart from traditional export items like dragon fruits and rambutans, on October 6 the US officially green-lighted the import of longans and lychees from Vietnam.

Accordingly, Vietnam plans to export around 600 tonnes of lychees and 1,200 tonnes of longans to the US each year.

According to the Vietnam Trade Office in Australia, this country may also allow the import of lychees starting next year.

Although export prospects are promising, there are still a number of problems with fruit and vegetable exports.

Exports to China, Vietnam’s largest market for fruit and vegetable exports, mainly go through the border gate, which is prone to risk, while other major markets like Japan and the US often demand strict food safety standards.

“Vegetable and fruit exports to Russia jumped 30 per cent in 2013. This number, however, is a drop in the bucket compared to the total $8 billion Russia spends on importing vegetables and fruits every year,” said Maxim Golikov, chief representative of the Russian Trade Office in Vietnam.

He said the main reason was the lack of information on the Vietnamese market and business contacts between the two countries.