Fruit and vegetables sector eyes US$ 5 billion export turnover in 2020

Illustration photo

In 2019, overseas shipment of vegetables and fruits failed to meet expectation as the export turnover experienced a year-on-year decline of 1% and valued US$ 3.8 billion. 

Experts attributed the decline to negative impacts of the China-U.S. trade dispute, shortcomings in FTA enforcement, and weaknesses of the sector to fulfill the preset goal of US$ 4 billion export turnover in 2019. 

In 2020, the Viet Nam Fruit and Vegetables Association expected that export value would increase sharply and hit US$ 5 billion thanks to the effective EVFTA. 

The Association reported that a large number of Vietnamese fruits conquered difficult markets. Mango was the sixth Vietnamese fruit to enter the U.S. after litchi, longan, rambutan, star apple fruits, and dragon fruits. 

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries of Japan recently sent a letter to the Vietnamese Plant Protection Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to officially inform that Japan stands ready to open door for Vietnamese litchis. 

However, in 2020, the country is coping with difficulties to meet international standards as only 5% of land cultivation area fulfilled Global GAP standards out of about 1 million hectares./.

By Khanh Phuong