Workers process fresh lychee for export at a factory of the Vifoco Export-Import JSC in Bac Giang province (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnamearned nearly 2 billion USD from fruit and vegetable exports in the first sevenmonths of this year, down 12.3 percent year-on-year, according to the Ministryof Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).
The ministry attributed the decline to falls in theshipments of certain commodities, including dragon fruit, which made up thelargest part of total exports at 34 percent, down 6 percent; bananas 9.5percent; durian 71 percent; and watermelon 38.5 percent.
China was the leading buyer of Vietnamese fruitand vegetables in the period, accounting for 59 percent, but exports to the marketfell by some 29 percent. Shipments to Singapore also dropped, by nearly 1percent.
Vietnam recorded higher fruit and vegetableexports to most of the remaining markets, including the Republic of Korea (up25.5 percent), Thailand (234 percent), the US (10 percent), and Japan (13percent).
Between January and July, the country imported708 million USD worth of fruit and vegetables, down 37.7 percent from a yearearlier.
The US, China, and Australia were the largest sources./.
VNA
