Fruit and vegetable exports tipped to rise ‘significantly'

Workers at the Viet Nam National Vegetable, Fruit and Agriculture Product Corporation process rambutans for export. Fruit and vegetable exports earned $515 million in the first 10 months of the year. — VNA/VNS Photo Dinh HueV

The MoIT said that many countries in Asia and the EU have been adversely affected by bad weather conditions, both vegetable and fruit yields plummeting against climbing demand.

In agreement, an anonymous Viet Nam Vegetable and Fruit Association official said that floods have greatly influenced yields in Thailand.

The unbalance between supply and demand has pushed prices up to such an extent that many countries have been forced to increase their imports, offering Vietnamese exporters an excellent opportunity to thrive, the ministry said.

The ministry additionally predicted that, until the end of the year, exports to the US and EU would remain stable and unaffected by global recession.

Currently, American taste has shifted towards tropical vegetables and fruit, the ministry explained.

Sharing the idea, an association official said, "Tropical vegetables and fruit such as dragon fruit, coconuts and pipe-apples have been favoured around the world."

Moreover, he added that, thanks to Government support, the quality of Vietnamese products has improved considerably.

"The Government has supported farmers in applying new technologies for purposes of developing more competitive products," he said.

"Export revenues have increased month by month. In the first 10 months of the year, vegetable and fruit exports brought in US$515 million, an increase of 40.6 per cent over the same period last year," he added.

The official affirmed that this was the first time that the Vietnamese vegetable and fruit industry had managed to reach such record exports. — VNS