Hanoi (VNA) – With positive signals right from the beginning of the year, including over 1 billion USD in export value in the first quarter of this year, experts have shown optimism about the growth in overseas shipments of Vietnamese fruits and vegetables in the coming time.

According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, Vietnam earned 325.8 million USD from exporting fruits and vegetables in February, down 33.6% from January, but up 1.4% compared to the same period of 2023.

The figure hit 433 million USD in March, a rise of nearly 4% year on year, pushing the total export revenue of the product in the first three months of 2024 to 1.25 billion USD, up 27% year on year. This is the first time the fruit and vegetable export value exceeds 1 billion USD right in the first quarter, signaling a strong growth of the sector in the future.

Major export markets of Vietnamese fruits and vegetables include China, the Republic of Korea (RoK), the US, Thailand, and Japan. Particularly, a surge of 125.9% was seen in shipments to Thailand as of the end of February to 28.6 million USD.

Meanwhile, the Import-Export Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade reported that the export of Vietnamese fruits and vegetables to China in the first two months of this year reached 501.4 million USD, a rise of 57.2% over the same period of 2023.

Strong growth was also seen in many other markets, including the RoK (52.4%), and Australia (36.2%).

The Vietnam Fruit & Vegetables Association (VinaFruit) held that the soaring fruit and vegetable export in the first quarter of this year is thanks to the increase of off-season durians. Particularly, the surge in Thailand’s consumption of Vietnamese durians made the country the fourth largest importer of Vietnamese fruits and vegetables.

Experts predicted that although the Red Sea crisis has greatly affected Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable shipments to Europe and the US, but may push those to China and regional countries, especially for durian, coconut, dragon fruit, jackfruits, banana, and mango.

They held that this year, the granting of more codes for durian farming regions and packaging facilities will help promote the export of this product. At the same time, coconut is also another promising product that contributes to the growth of Vietnamese fruit and vegetable export revenue.

This year, Vietnam expects 6.2-6.5 billion USD in fruit and vegetable export turnover./.