Fruit, veggie exports likely to hit US$3.8 billion

Exports of fruits and vegetables for the whole year are likely to reach US$3.8 billion thanks to comprehensive measures taken by the agricultural sector, according to Nguyen Quoc Toan, Acting Director of the Department of Farm Produce Processing and Market Development under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Vietnam is projected to earn US$3.1 billion in vegetable and fruit exports in the first nine months of the year, a year-on-year surge of 17.1%. 

Currently, China is the largest market of Vietnam’s fruits and vegetables, accounting for 74% of the total market share. Vietnam shipped nearly US$2 billion worth of fruits and vegetables to the neighbouring country during January-August, up 11.6% from the same period last year.

Strong growth was seen in the exports to Thailand (38%), Australia (36%), the US (26.3%), and the Republic of Korea (21.4%).

The department also said that Vietnam splashed out US$1.3 billion purchasing fruits and vegetables from foreign countries in the nine-month period, increasing 12.7% year on year. Of the total, US$330 million was spent on vegetable imports, and US$911 million for fruit imports, up 36% and 0.8% from the same time last year, respectively.

Most of the imports came from Thailand (45%) and China (22%).