Vietnamese Fruit, Veggie Aiming at India, Western Europe

The Trade Ministry has urged local fruit and vegetable exporters to ensure food safety and hygiene in a bid to ship more products to the potential markets of India and the Western Europe.

 

In the first nine months of this year, fruit and veggie exports generated an estimated revenue of $189 million, hitting an increase of 7 per cent compared to the same period of 2005.

 

Among 39 importers worldwide, Asian countries like Taiwan, China, Japan and Hong Kong are the biggest, followed by the US and Russia.

 

The country is expected to notch up around $280 million from fruit and vegetable exports by the end of 2006, an on-year rise of 19 per cent, with China, Russia and Japan being the leading importers.

 

However, commercial experts said that the country should build trademarks for some special products, focus on fruits that have competitive edge and launch active marketing programs, warning that most of Vietnamese veggie exporters ignore the role of trade marks, the key factor helping local products set firm foothold in any markets.

 

The sector was also told to apply advanced technology to produce high quality products.