Fruit and vegetable exports raked in 1 billion USD by December 15, according to statistics released by the General Department of Customs.

It represented a high growth of 27 percent compared to the same period last year, especially in the context that many other agricultural products saw declines in both quality and price.

Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable are now present in 40 markets around the world.

The exports of fruits and vegetables has risen steadily over the past years, ranging from 305 million USD in 2007 to 628 million USD in 2011 and 829 million USD last year.

However, much remains to be done to boost fruit and vegetable export, as investment in the sector remains modest, the purchase of fruits and vegetables for export remains difficult and few vegetable and fruit planting units obtain the Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) standard.-VNA