Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam spent 1.57 billion USD on importing fruit and vegetables in thefirst 11 months of this year, up 11.5 percent from the same period in 2017,according to statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development(MARD).
Thailand is the topexporter of fruit and vegetable to Vietnam, accounting for 41 percent ofVietnam’s total import of the products. China followed with 24 percent ofmarket share.
According to head ofthe MARD’s Plant Protection Department Hoang Trung, a large volume of fruits importedfrom Thailand are re-exported to China, mostly durian, mangosteen and longan.
Shipments fromseveral markets showed strong surges, such as Chile with a 98 percent increase,the US (90 percent) and the Republic of Korea (83 percent).
Meanwhile, theexport of fruit and vegetables in the 11-month period also went up 11.6 percenton a yearly basis to 3.5 billion USD, with 73.8 percent of export volume goingto China.
At present, 80percent of Vietnam’s fruit outputs are consumed in the domestic market, mainlyin the form of fresh fruits. Few enterprises have invested in fruit processing,due to the lack of concentrated growing areas that can ensure stable supply ofbig amounts of raw materials.-VNA
