Dragon fruit harvest in Long An province (Photo:VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Shipments of Vietnamese dragon fruit abroad are expected to shoot up after Taiwan (China) agreed to reopen its doors to Vietnamese white flesh dragon fruit from June 2016, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
In March 2009, Taiwan completely suspended the import of Vietnamese dragon fruit over fear of being infected with melon fly disease. It was said the flies that eat guava could inhabit the fruit and enter Taiwan.
At that time, Vietnam exported around 15,000-16,000 tonnes of dragon fruits to Taiwan annually.
Dragon fruit is favoured for exports thanks to its long preserving term (40 days) and low cost of transportation by sea route (0.2-0.3 USD per kilogramme).
Australia has officially commenced a review to import fresh dragon fruit from Vietnam into its market.
According to a press release published by the Australian Embassy in Vietnam on April 27, fresh dragon fruit is one of the agricultural products given top priority to access Australia.
In the first six months of the year, Vietnam sold 4,610 tonnes of fruit in foreign markets, 72 percent of which was dragon fruit.
Vietnam exported over one million tonnes of dragon fruit in 2015.-VNA
