According to the Import-Export Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam earned 2.7 billion USD from veggetable and fruit exports in the first eight months of 2018, a year-on-year rise of 14.1 percent.

China continued to be the largest importer of Vietnamese vegetables and fruits, with a turnover of nearly 2 billion USD, up 11.6 percent against the same period last year.

The country was followed by the US, Thailand and Australia.

The result is attributed to the similarity in demand, habits and consumer taste and close geographical distance between Vietnam and China. However, requirements for product quality of the Chinese market are increasing as the common trend of the world.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said it will continue encouraging farmers across the country to replace rice in areas producing low output with other crops of higher economic value such as fruit trees, vegetables or flowers.  

The Ministry will also push the use of high-quality seeds and seedlings along with advanced farming technology in agriculture to improve the value and competitiveness of domestic farm produce. 

Last year, Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable export value exceeded 3.5 billion USD. The sector is striving to reach a year-on-year growth of 10-15 percent this year, or around 4 billion USD.-