A farmer harvests dragon fruit (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam earned a record of some3.45 billion USD from fruit and vegetable exports in 2017, rising by 40.5percent from last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment (MARD).
Fruit and vegetable exports in December aloneare estimated at 276 million USD.
MARD said China, Japan, the US and the Republicof Korea were the biggest importers of Vietnamese fruits and vegetables betweenJanuary and November. The markets with soaring imports from Vietnam were Japan(70.6 percent), the United Arab Emirates (57.4 percent), and China (54.9percent).
Meanwhile, the country imported 145 million USDworth of these commodities in December, raising total fruit and vegetableimports this year to 1.56 billion USD, up 68.1 percent from 2016.
The ministry said 2017 was a “bumper” year forVietnamese fruits with surging export turnover and entrance into many demandingmarkets.
MARD Minister Nguyen Xuan Cuong said thereremains huge potential for Vietnamese fruits and vegetables in the globalmarket. To tap this potential, the country needs to pay more attention toprocessing which is still the weakest point of Vietnam at present.
He said many processing plants with highproductivity and modern technology are under construction nationwide.
He also emphasised the need to explore new markets, instead of focusing ontraditional ones.-VNA
VNA
