HCM CITY — Korean exports of pears and apples to Việt Nam have soared in the past years, according to the Korea Agriculture Food Trade Association.

Korea’s pear exports to Việt Nam surged by 9,440 times in the 2011-16 period, from US$52,000 in 2011 to $4.96 million last year.

Its apple exports to Việt Nam also went up by 928.8 per cent in the period, from $66,000 to $679,000.

Speaking on the sidelines of a seminar in HCM City on Friday, Cao Thị Quỳnh Giao, director of Lâm Khải Hoàn Co.Ltd, said her company imports about two to five containers (each container having a loading capacity of 600kg) of pears and apples from South Korea to distribute to supermarkets in Việt Nam.

“Many Vietnamese consumers are fond of Korea’s pears due to its good quality and reasonable prices,” she said.

Her company plans to import more pears and Fuji apples from Korea, kiwi from Australia and gala apple from the US, she said.

Tạ Minh Thành, deputy director of Tứ Sơn Supermarket in Châu Đốc, An Giang Province, said the supermarket started to sell Korean pears and apples two and a half years ago, with sales of pear very good.

“We are here to meet Korean firms as we want to find suppliers of apple/pear gift boxes to serve customers on the occasion of Lunar New Year holiday,” he said.

Lee Soon Nyung, managing director of Hyun Jin Corporation, said Korea exports about 25,000 tonnes of pears a year, with the US (10,000 tonnes), Taiwan (10,000 tonnes) and Việt Nam (2,000 tonnes) being three biggest export markets.

It exports about 3,400 tonnes of apples a year, of which 2,000 tonnes is exported to Taiwan and 300 tonnes to Việt Nam.

As Việt Nam does not cultivate pears and apples, many businesses have imported them from other countries to supply in the market. Vietnamese people are fond of Korean fruits, especially apples and pears, he said.

“Việt Nam is a very potential market. We want to export more apples and pears as well as other kinds of fruits into Việt Nam.”

“The business meeting today will help us understand more about requirements of our Vietnamese partners so as we can satisfy their demand.”

Lee Sun Hyung from Gyeong Buk Corporation, said "Việt Nam is an emerging market for Korea’s fruits".

Many Korean companies as well as his company have prepared high-grade pear and apple gift boxes with nice design, hoping that the products will be consumed well in Việt Nam in the future, he said.

Organised by the Korea Agriculture Food Trade Association and the Việt Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Việt Nam-Korea business seminar attracted seven Korean fresh fruits exporting firms and 15 Vietnamese enterprises.

The two sides exchanged information on import-export situation, prices, and quality of products as well as difficulties accounted during the import process. Korean firms talked about ways to improve the problems and propose ways to increase exports in the future.

The association said it plans to invite Vietnamese fruit importers to visit South Korea to understand more about the production process of the fruits as well as discuss business opportunities.

Việt Nam imported vegetables and fruits worth $1.02 billion in the first eight months of 2017, a year-on-year increase of 94 per cent. Of which, the import value of vegetables was around $200 million, while fruits imports were more than $800 million, double the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.  — VNS