Viet Nam’s fruit and vegetable exports reached a record $3.5 billion for year-on-year growth of 43.02 per cent, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The top 10 markets were China (75.6 per cent), Japan (3.64 per cent), the United States (2.94 per cent), South Korea (2.59 per cent), the Netherlands (1.81 per cent), Malaysia (1.43 per cent), Taiwan (1.33 per cent), Thailand (1.03 per cent), the United Arab Emirates (1.01 per cent) and Russia (0.85 per cent). Other markets accounted for 7.77 per cent, according to news site vneconomy.vn.

In addition to the traditional markets, Vietnamese fruits also managed to enter demanding markets like the United States, European Union, Japan, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

According to Nguyen Huu Dat, general secretary of the Viet Nam Vegetables and Fruits Association, export has continued its strong growth this year, exceeding the export value of some key export products such as rice, oil and gas.

He said in 2018 and beyond, besides improving the quality of vegetables and fruits, enterprises should focus on processing to add value and extend exports throughout the whole year, and not just during specific seasons.

Dinh Cao Khue, general director of the Dong Dao Food Export Joint Stock Company, said processed fruit products cost 10-20 times higher than fresh fruits.

He said enterprises can only select 40-50 per cent of harvested vegetables and fruits for export on quality considerations, so the remaining quantity should be processed to get higher value from them.

Dat said to have sustainability in vegetable and fruit export, the agriculture sector must have large-scale production, and individual households must join cooperatives. He emphasised that it was easy to improve quality and have uniformity of products with large scale of cooperatives, ensuring food safety and competitiveness of Vietnamese vegetables and fruit products in the global market.

He further said the agriculture sector must develop associations in the production chain ranging from supply of seeds, cultivation, purchasing and processing to export. Especially fruit products that are exported to demanding markets must have stability in exports and meet standards of food safety, Dat said.

Deputy Minister of agriculture and rural development Nguyen Thanh Nam also said the agriculture sector should promote cooperation in production between enterprises and cooperatives, wherein the cooperatives would take up land and partner with enterprises to ensure a stable supply of raw material for businesses.

He said the region needs mechanisms and policies to ensure the quality and safety of raw material for export as well as domestic consumption.

Viet Nam has favourable climate and land to grow different kinds of fruits, so localities having these advantages must have development plans in place and support enterprises in developing raw material for the export of fruits, Nam said. — VNS