Every month, Vietnam spends an average of US$150 million to import vegetables and fruits (mostly fruits). Fruits imported from Australia and the US alone increased by 50-70 percent, causing prices of exotic fruits to drop more and more.
According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, this means that in the past ten months, Vietnam spent more than $1.5 billion to import vegetables and fruits. The country imported fruits most from the US with the volume of fruits imported from the US rising by up to 70 percent. Fruits imported from South Africa surged by 39 percent, from New Zealand climbed by 38 percent, from China advanced by 36 percent and from Chile increased by 21 percent.
The Ho Chi Minh City’s market alone had consumed around 800 tons of imported cherries in the first seven months of this year. Of these, 349 tons were imported from the US and 250 tons from Australia. Similarly, as for blueberries, during the crop from July to the end of September this year, the volume of fresh blueberries imported from the US by air was up to 350 tons.
Thanks to high import volume, prices of exotic fruits also became cheaper. The price of fresh blueberries was merely VND600,000 per kilogram while it was more than VND1 million per kilogram in previous years. The US cherries were priced VND350,000 per kilogram while they cost VND500,000 per kilogram last year. The price of Australia’s Navel oranges was VND80,000 per kilogram while it fetched VND130,000 per kilogram last year.
