Exports of Vietnamese dragon fruit to the US have dropped off in recent years because of high export costs and reduced consumer demand for the fruit, according to Tran Ngoc Hiep, chairman of the Association of Dragon Fruit Producers in Binh Thuan Province.
Mr Hiep said because demand was down and the cost of irradiation treatments to clear the fruit for export was costly, traders in the province were cutting back on US shipments.
'The export price of dragon fruit to the US is some US$3 per kg, but the cost of irradiating the fruit is still too high, around US$1.10 per kg,' Mr Hiep said.
Since late 2008, dragon fruit exporters have shipped only 200 tonnes to the US compared to the hundreds of thousands of tonnes shipped each year to China and Europe, VietnamNet reported.
He added that although the export price to Europe was lower, around US$2 per kg, demand was much stronger and exporters incurred fewer costs.
Mr Hiep said his company, Hoang Hau Dragon Fruit Company Limited, planned to increase its European shipments, where it already sends 5,000 tonnes a year, and its exports to China.
Dragon fruit prices on the local market had increased rapidly, according to Mr Hiep, hitting VND13,000-15,000 per kg (US$0.70-0.81), a three-fold increase on last month.
Meanwhile, hundreds of trucks carrying Vietnamese fruit to China have been stuck at Lang Son Province's Tan Thanh border gate since 26 January because of insufficient customs clearance services.
According to Bui Van Phan, deputy head of the Management Board of Tan Thanh's border gate economic zone, up to 400 trucks have been arriving at the border gate each day, which officials only able to clear around half that number.
Fruit is flooding into the area in the lead up to the Chinese New Year festival, and Nguyen Vuong, head of the Tan Thanh Customs Department, said customs officers are working to help firms sell their goods as quickly as possible.
Mr Vuong also said they have asked Vietnamese firms to stop transporting goods for the next three days to avoid losses and ease congestion, Saigon Giai Phong reported.
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