Vietnam exported US$310 million worth of vegetables and fruits last month, up 23 percent month on month and 28 percent year on year, according to the Export-Import Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The growth in vegetable and fruit exports in October was thanks to the surge in the export value of these products, especially bananas and durians, to China.

Vietnam shipped $152 million worth of vegetables and fruits to the neighboring market last month, soaring 44 percent over the same period last year.

Vietnam’s vegetable and fruit exports to other markets during the January-October period of this year also grew, with $219 million worth of produce shipped to the U.S., $153 million to Thailand, and $141 million to Japan.

However, total vegetable and fruit export revenue only reached $2.75 billion during the 10-month period, down 8 percent year on year.

Of the total, $1.2 billion was earned from the Chinese market, falling 26 percent.

According to the Export-Import Department, the outlook of vegetable and fruit exports to China is positive.

Durians have been exported to China via official channels since September this year.

Following durians, opportunities to export bananas to China have opened up after a protocol on fresh banana exports was concluded during an official visit to China by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in late October.

Between January and September this year, China imported $948.6 million worth of bananas, up 18 percent year-on-year.

The Export-Import Department cited statistics from the General Administration of Customs of China stating that China imported its largest banana volume from the Philippines for the year through September, at $375.5 million, accounting for 39.6 percent of its total banana import revenue and inching down 4.7 percent year-on-year.

It is worth noting that China increased banana imports from Vietnam by 49.2 percent to $213.3 million over the nine-month period.

“The shift from unofficial to official exports to the Chinese market will contribute to boosting the growth of the vegetable and fruit sector,” the department emphasized.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the country currently has some 155,000 hectares of banana farms with a yield of 2.3 million tons this year, including around 500,000 tons expected to be harvested during the last quarter of 2022.

Banana prices nationwide in October remained unchanged compared to those a month earlier.

In southern Tien Giang Province, green and raja bananas were priced at VND8,000 ($0.32) and VND9,000 ($0.36), respectively, per kilogram.

As for durians, the prices in some Mekong Delta provinces increased in October due to a higher demand and the resumption of the customs clearance at border gates.

In Tien Giang Province, Ri6 durians were bought at VND85,000 ($3.4) per kilogram, rising VND15,000 ($0.6).

In Vietnam, durian farms cover some 85,000 hectares, with half of them having a total yield of some 670,000 tons.

Local enterprises have registered to annually ship 1.3 million tons of durian to China via official channels.

In the January-August period of this year, durian exports surged 68 percent over the same period last year to reach $158 million.

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