In particular,dragon ranked first with US$568 million of export revenue, equivalent to 50% of the total export value, followed by lychee with US$103 million (9.1%), and watermelon with approximately US$95 million.

The nation’s area under dragon fruit cultivation has expanded to nearly 37,000 hectares, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The association forecast this growth trend would continue in the rest of the year, owing to high consumption of fruits and vegetables.

Fruit and vegetable imports rose sharply in Jan-Aug

Statistics by the General Department of Customs showed that Vietnam’s fruits and vegetables import value rose 36.9% year-on-year to US$529 million in January-August, according to vneconomy.vn.

The country imported US$108.4 million worth of fruits and vegetables in August alone, up 55.1% compared to July.

Thailand is the biggest supplier of fruits and vegetables to Vietnam with US$218.8 million, up 62.4% year-on-year, followed by China with US$125.2 million (up 27.5%) and the U.S. with approximately US$50 million (up 13.2%).

Thailand and China accounted for two-thirds of Vietnam’s imports, equivalent to US$344 million.