The event was organised to celebrate the 45th founding anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic relations (1973-2018).

According to Ta Duc Minh, Trade Counsellor and head of the Vietnamese Embassy’s Trade Office, the country has currently shipped dragon fruits, mango and banana to Japan, with all of the fruits meeting Japanese food safety requirements. 

Last year, Vietnam exported 2,500 - 3,000 tonnes of banana and more than 1,500 tonnes of dragon fruits to Japan.

Vietnamese firms are advised to ensure food safety and quality, Minh said, adding the export of agricultural products to Japan is also an opportunity for Vietnam’s farm produce to access other foreign markets.

Hidekatsu Ishikawa, President of Vient Co. Ltd, said in 2017, his company imported an average of about 200 containers of fruits from Vietnam worth up to 500 million JPY (4.6 million USD) to Japan, adding that Vient wants to introduce other high-quality fruits of Vietnam to Japan’s consumers. 

He pointed out that Vietnam should work to improve logistics services to reduce transportation time.

The two countries are negotiating for the export of Vietnam’s lychee to Japan.