A seminar was held in Ho Chi Minh City on Nov. 29 to discuss ways to promote the export of Vietnamese fruits to the US market.

A representative from the USAID STAR plus project, a development project of USAID which provides technical assistance to Vietnam to support trade integration, said Vietnamese seafood has been sold well in the US , while Vietnamese tropical fruits are not popular in the country.

Matthew Lantz, an expert of the USAID STAR plus project, said that this was the first seminar held by the US to inform Vietnamese farm exporters about new regulations in its farm produce import. He added that the US government signed a decision on amending the law on food safety in early 2011.

Vietnam ranks fifth in exports of seafood to the US . Major exporters of Vietnam were licensed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the US .

US experts at the seminar said that the US is a promising market for Vietnamese fruits so Vietnamese exporters should boost promotion programmes, take part in trade fairs and set up contact channels through websites.

In addition, Vietnamese farm producers must pay attention to technical regulations of the US .

Vietnam has so far exported dragon fruit, rambutan and coconut to the US . Other fruits like litchi and longan are expected to be on the way to the market soon./.