Over the last few weeks, prices of several fruits such as durian, mango, jackfruit and dragon fruit in the region's wholesale markets have slumped, pushing farmers to seek new markets for their products. — File Photo

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Fruit and vegetable traders and exporters in Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta region are seeking new outlets such as other regional countries and the EU to reduce their heavy reliance on China.

Over the last few weeks, prices of several fruits such as durian, mango, jackfruit and dragon fruit in the region's wholesale markets have slumped, pushing farmers to seek new markets for their products.

Traders and exporters have blamed this unsatisfactory performance for sluggish exports to China – which was Viet Nam's largest fruit and vegetable consumer.

Nguyen Thanh Hiep, owners of a fruit trading facility in Tien Giang's Cai Lay District, said that he has shifted exports to Cambodia since last month.

Even though Cambodians did not consume a large volume of fruits, the proximity of the country resulted in low transport costs, he told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

Tran Huu Danh, director of Long Viet Co, which specialises in exporting dragon fruit in Tien Giang Province, noted that his company has took the initiative in expanding markets to some Asian countries, such as Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and India, where consumers favoured Vietnamese dragon fruit.

China used to consume 90 per cent of his company's products, but the imports have been postponed because of tension in the East Sea, Danh told the newspaper.

Recently, Long Viet had successfully accessed India with their first shipments to the market.

"India is large and not a demanding market. Our company plans to deeply penetrate into the market in the next three to five years. Our target is to reduce the dependence in Chinese market," Danh was quoted as saying in the newspaper.

Professor Nguyen Quoc Vong, an agricultural expert, said that there was a great demand for fresh and quality agricultural products in the world market.

However, in order to take full advantage of these opportunities, Viet Nam has to change traditional cultivation measures and foster technological innovation to provide high-quality products, he pointed out.

Other experts believed that entering the strict markets such as the EU, the United States, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand would not be a hard task for Vietnamese firms if they well-complied with international standards. — VNS