Fruit, veggie exports estimated at US$321 million in January

China, Japan, the US and the Republic of Korea remained the biggest importers of Vietnamese fruits and vegetables in the month. The markets with soaring imports from Vietnam were Japan (69.3 percent), the United Arab Emirates (56.3 percent), and China (52.4 percent).

Meanwhile, the country imported 152 million USD worth of these commodities in January, of which fruits accounted for 76 percent.

The Ministry said the domestic fruit market saw great fluctuations, with a rise in the price of dragon fruit in the Mekong Delta region.

The trend is expected to continue in the lead-up to the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival.

Prices of star apples and jack fruits also climbed up, reaching 15,000 VND (0.7 USD) and 43,000 VND (1.9 USD) per kg due to increasing demand for these two products in the US and China, respectively.

Meanwhile, orange prices in the Mekong Delta region fell dramatically due to abundant supply and the crops face diseases.

Prices of several vegetables also dropped in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong due to high supply fueled by favourable weather.