Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) Ben Tre (VNA) - A ceremony was held in the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre on September 17 to announce the first shipment of its fruit to the EU under the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).
General Director of the Vina T&T Group Nguyen Dinh Tung said that after more than one month of negotiations, the company will export 20,000 fresh coconuts to the UK, 12 tonnes of pomelo to Germany, and three tonnes of dragon fruit to the Netherlands.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh said the EVFTA opens up huge opportunities for Vietnamese farm produce in general and fruit in particular.
More than a month since the EVFTA took effect, many types of Vietnamese agricultural products have been shipped to the bloc, such as brackish-water shrimp from the central province of Ninh Thuan and coffee and passion fruit from the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai.
About 40 types of Vietnamese fruit and vegetables are now exported to 60 countries and territories. Apart from traditional markets, fruit is also found in demanding markets such as the US, the EU, Japan, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
In the first seven months of this year, fruit exports to the EU earned 59.18 million USD in revenue, accounting for 73.54 percent of total fruit and vegetable shipments to the bloc. The figure is expected to keep growing despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Huu Lap said Ben Tre still possesses huge potential to ship tropical fruit to the EU, in particular coconuts. It has a total cultivation area of nearly 73,000 ha of coconut trees with an output of more than 626,000 tonnes.
The province is home to around 4,000 ha of certified organic coconut and some 30,000 ha of other fruit, with a total output of over 330,000 tonnes./.
