Fruits exports to China plunge

Vietnam’s fruits exports to China in the first 11 months fell 13.7 percent year-on-year on the latter imposing more stringent conditions.

Watermelons seen at a floating market in the Mekong Delta province of Long An. Photo by Shutterstock/Rostasedlacek.

Among total fruit exports to China worth $2.08 billion, coconut export value fell 34.9 percent year-on-year, while that of watermelon dropped 24.6 percent, according to the Agricultural Products Processing and Development Department (Agrotrade).

The export value of other fruits like durian, dragon fruit and mangosteen also fell, the department said.

Tighter import restrictions by China, the largest buyer of Vietnamese fruits, took effect on May 1, and this has led to a drop in prices, Agrotrade said.

But thanks to rising exports to the U.S., South Korea and Japan, fruits exports in the first 11 months fell only 0.6 percent year-on-year to $3.5 billion, it added.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development estimates Vietnam’s exports of agriculture, forestry and seafood products this year at $41.3 billion this year, short of the $43 billion target.