Workers process pineapples for export at the factory of the An Giang Fruit-Vegetables and Foodstuff JSC in the southern province of An Giang (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Fruit and vegetable exports inthe first eight months of this year fell by 5.8 percent year on year to about2.53 billion USD, according to the Agro Processing and Market DevelopmentDepartment (Agrotrade) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The figure includes 246 million USD in August.
Between January and July, China remained thebiggest importer as it accounted for 70.5 percent of Vietnam’s fruit andvegetable exports, equivalent to 1.65 billion USD – down 5.6 percent year onyear.
It was followed by the US, whose imports rose12.5 percent to 84.07 million USD, making up 3.6 percent of the total. TheRepublic of Korea ranked third with 76.91 million USD worth of the commoditiesfrom Vietnam, rising 13.1 percent and accounting for 3.3 percent of the total.
The markets posting surges in the import ofVietnamese fruits and vegetables included Laos 2.84 times, Hong Kong (China)2.37 times, Taiwan (China) 44 percent, and the Netherlands 37.9 percent.
Also in August, Vietnam purchased 134 millionUSD worth of fruits and vegetables from other countries, raising theeight-month imports to 1.28 billion USD, up 11.5 percent from a year earlier.
Agrotrade forecast there remain numerousdifficulties facing the exports for the remaining months of this year due touncertainties in the world’s economy, the escalating US-China trade tensionthat will cause reluctance over trade and investment activities, and theenhanced application of strict food safety and environmental protectionstandards in many markets./.
VNA
