70% of Vietnam's fruits and vegetables are exported to China.

Among Vietnam's fruit and vegetable import markets, China is the largest, accounting for up to 70% of the total export value.

The Center for Industrial and Trade Information (Ministry of Industry and Trade) has just updated data showing that Vietnamese fruits and vegetables exported in the past eight months have mainly gone to the Chinese market.

China is the largest market for Vietnamese fruit and vegetable exports (Illustrative image: KT)

Specifically, in the first eight months of 2016, the export value of fruits and vegetables exceeded US$1 billion, surpassing rice to become the leading agricultural export product, with a turnover of US$1.57 billion, a growth of 21.8% compared to the same period in 2015. Among the markets importing Vietnamese fruits and vegetables, China was the largest market, accounting for 70%, reaching US$1.09 billion, an increase of 27.9% compared to the same period last year. South Korea ranked second in terms of turnover, reaching US$59.44 million, an increase of 20% compared to the same period in 2015, accounting for 3.8% of total export turnover. Next, the US market reached US$54.76 million, accounting for 3.5%, an increase of 35.3% compared to the same period last year.

Regarding Vietnam's fruit and vegetable export growth in the first eight months of 2016, most markets achieved year-on-year growth in export value; some markets experienced high growth rates such as: the UK (39% increase); the UAE (37.1% increase); Malaysia (23.3% increase);... However, exports declined sharply in some markets such as: Cambodia (down 193.7%); Hong Kong (down 105%); Kuwait (down 146.6%);…

Although the outlook for fruit and vegetable exports from now until the end of the year is relatively positive, according to the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, exports of these products still face some difficulties from various markets. For example, in the Indian market, exports face many risks because they have to accept deferred payment methods. In addition, Indian customers pay very slowly (in installments) not immediately after receiving the goods, leading to a situation where, if customers cannot sell the goods, businesses do not receive payment.

Regarding the large Chinese market for Vietnamese fruits and vegetables, some Chinese businesses have recently received inaccurate information and have therefore required Vietnamese fruit and vegetable exporters to provide documents confirming that their businesses are on a list registered by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and sent to China before customs clearance can be granted. This has caused considerable concern for businesses.

In fact, the aforementioned registration regulations have been in place since July 2009, but they have not been implemented to date, and there has been no request for increased inspections.

The Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association acknowledges that, for the fruit and vegetable industry in general, the recent surge in fruit and vegetable imports in some markets has created certain difficulties.

According to VOV