Fruit, vegetable exports hit US$1.62 billion in five months

In May alone, the country grossed US$303.1 million from selling fruits and vegetables abroad, up 10% against the same month last year, according to Vietnam Customs.

Fruit-vegetable was the second biggest foreign currency earner in the agricultural sector, after aquatic products.

Vietnamese fruits and vegetables have been sold across 60 countries and territories, including four main markets namely China, the US, Japan and the Republic of Korea.

In January-April, fruit-vegetable exports to most markets registered growth with China importing nearly US$989 million worth of products, a year-on-year increase of 30.3% and 75% of fruit-vegetable export turnover.

The US came second with US$39 million (up 12.3%), followed by Japan at US$36.55 million (up 15.9%) and the Republic of Korea US$34.78 million (up 13.28%).

Southeast Asian countries imported US$56.39 million worth of fruits and vegetables, an annual rise of 19.4% and 4.3% of the fruit-vegetable export turnover.

Strong growth was also seen in markets such as France (up 41.3%) and Australia (up 34.9%).

Notably, Vietnamese fruits and vegetables were also exported to Thailand and Indonesia, which have strengths in agriculture.

In the period, Vietnam imported US$575 million worth of fruits and vegetables, up 15.3% over the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The country mainly purchased fruits and vegetables from Thailand, China and the US.

With the positive outcomes in 2017 and the first quarter of 2018, Vietnam is expected to gross US$10 billion from exporting fruits and vegetables in the near future.

The country earned a record US$3.45 billion from fruit and vegetable exports in 2017, a year-on-year rise of 40.5%, much higher than traditional staples like rice, crude oil and coffee.