The export value of domestic fruits and vegetables is expected to reach US$2.5 billion this year, surpassing the value of rice exports for the first time, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) announced. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI – The export value of domestic fruits and vegetables is expected to reach US$2.5 billion this year, surpassing the value of rice exports for the first time, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) announced.

The Ministry said the vegetable and fruit industry grew from exporting $235 million to 36 markets in 2005 to exporting $1.8 billion to 60 markets in 2015.

The export value in 2015 reached a record high $1.8 billion, 123 per cent higher than in 2014.

Việt Nam’s exporters have promoted vegetable and fruit exports to both traditional and new markets, including markets with strict rules, such as the US, European Union (EU), Japan, South Korea, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Fruit producers in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta region are now producing fruit products using good agricultural practices (GAP) to meet export market requirements, the Ministry said.

Many production models have been implemented and certified for rambutan and green-skin pomelo in Bến Tre Province, Năm Roi pomelo in Vĩnh Long Province, Vĩnh Kim star-apple, Hòa Lộc mango and pineapple in Tiền Giang Province and mango in Đồng Tháp Province, VietGAP and GlobalGAP said.

Việt Nam has emphasized rice exports for many years. But fruit exports are in demand on the world market, so the nation should promote fruit exports in the future, the deputy minister of agriculture and rural development Lê Quốc Doanh said.

The Cửu Long Delta region has had a total annual output of 3.18 million tonnes of fruits for local consumption and export, the Ministry reported. Key fruit products include dragon fruit, mango, rambutan, durian, star apple, pomelo, longan, orange and tangerine mainly from Tiền Giang, Vĩnh Long, Sóc Trăng, Bến Tre, Đồng Tháp and Hậu Giang provinces.

Since 2000, farmers in the region have applied modern science and technology to produce fruit products, increase output, improve quality and establish regions specialising in fruit production.

But Việt Nam’s fruit products still face many technical barriers in export markets, an official of MARD’s Plant Protection Department said.

Hoàng Trung, head of the department, said countries have different climates resulting in different plant structures. So a generalized plant quarantine protocol is not possible.

There are also technical barriers to import safe vegetable and fruit products and to protect local production, Trung said. Reducing tariffs during international integration increased technical barriers for quarantine and food safety.

It also takes an average of 3-4 years, or up to 10 years, for each kind of fruit to be approved for an import licence to just one country, Trung said.

The quality and safety of fresh fruit remain challenges for vegetable and fruit exporting, especially in strict markets such as the US, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. Production of vegetable and fruit products for export must meet VietGAP and Global GAP standards.

Quality control is vital to increase fruit and vegetable exports, Trung said. Vegetable and fruit producers should also follow import regulations closely to create favourable conditions for local vegetable and fruit products to enter export markets. — VNS