Vietnam’s fresh fruit and vegetable exports have jumped 32.5 per cent over the first half of the year, with increased volumes going to both regional markets and more distant countries.
General Statistics Office figures show Vietnam’s fruit produce exports his US$302m for the first six months of 2011, a Viet Nam News report said. Exports for June hit US$50m.
Increasingly quality and the accompanying market access is largely the cause if the rise in exports, local experts told Viet Nam News.
The US has opened its doors to Vietnamese rambutan, South Korea has granted access to the country’s dragon fruit, Taiwan is expected to soon do the same, and Vietnamese mangoes are expected to begin hitting New Zealand shelves next year.
Dragon fruit has been the poster child of Vietnam’s fresh produce exports again so far this year, with Japan, the US and South Korea all increasing their purchases. Total dragon fruit exports are expected to reach 2,600 tonnes this year, double last year’s figure, the report said.
In contrast, Vietnam’s imports of fresh produce have declined slightly this year to US$122m, down 5.8 per cent on the same period in 2010.
