HANOI, June 20 (Xinhua): Vietnam earned more than US$500 million from durian exports in the first five months of the year, equivalent to a jump of 18 times from a year ago, Vietnam News Agency reported on Tuesday.
The country exported more than 65,000 tons of durian during the January-May period, up 41 per cent from the total of 2022, with China buying 97 per cent of the shipment, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Vietnamese durian entered its harvest season in May, thus the export value of the fruit hit a record high of US$332 million, more than 10 times higher than in April.
China's appetite for tropical fruit is enormous. Last year, the country imported 825,000 tons of durian, according to Chinese customs data.
The Southeast Asian country currently has 293 farming areas and 115 durian packing facilities granted with official quotas to export to China.
China remained the biggest market for Vietnamese fruit and vegetables in the January-May period with US$805 million worth of shipments, accounting for 59 per cent of Vietnam's total export turnover, higher than 53 per cent in the same period last year, according to the Vietnam Fruit & Vegetable Association.
Vietnam's fruit and vegetables would likely rise by about 20 percent to 4 billion dollars this year as the country is expected to see exports to China widening to 2.5 billion dollars, said general secretary Dang Phuc Nguyen from the Vietnam Fruit & Vegetable Association.
The country's durian exports are forecast to reach 1 billion dollars in 2023. - Xinhua
