Statistics released by the General Department of Customs showed that Vietnam mainly imported fruits from China, Thailand and Hong Kong. In June 2007, nearly 70 per cent of Vietnam’s expenditure on fruit import was to these markets.
Hong Kong was Vietnam’s largest fruit import source in June, taking up 31.51 per cent of Vietnam’s fruit import expenditure. Main imports were chestnuts, almond, peaches, lotus nuts, apricots and plums.
According to the statistics, nearly 1,800 tonnes of fruits and kernels were imported from Hong Kong. One kind of fruit had very different price rates if the calculation unit was different. For example, a fruit batch measured in tonnes was priced US$320-480 per tonne (CFR, Hai Phong), while a batch measured in kg jumped to US$1,200-2,500 a tonne (CFR, Hai Phong) if the price unit was changed to the tonne.
Thailand was second largest supplier of fruits for Vietnam, accounting for 18.28 per cent of Vietnam’s spending on fruits in June. Main imports from Thailand were mangosteen, bon bon, orange, longan, litchi, tamarind and mango. A kg of bon bon was US$1.3, or US$1,300 a tonne (DAF; Sa Mat, Tinh Bien or Hoa Lu). A kg of mangosteen was US$0.25-1, or US$250-1,000 per tonne, depending on quality (DAF). The price of almond was US$50 a carton and the price of oranges was US$0.2 a kg. In general, the price of fruit from Thailand is not very different while the quality and shape are very good.
For many months, Thailand has surpassed China to become the second largest provider of fruits for Vietnam. In spite of the downward tendency, China remained the third largest supplier of fruits for Vietnam, 17.83 per cent of Vietnam’s spending on fruits. Fruits from China included orange, peach, mulberry, chestnut, melon, tamarind, plum, apricot and tangerine. The import volume was 6,300 tonnes. Most fruits from China were fresh and cheap, thus, they are sold very well in Vietnam. Specifically, the price of oranges was US$160 a tonne (DAF, Tan Than) and the price of peaches ranged betweenUS$80 and US$185 per tonne (DAF, Lao Cai). Import volume from China tends to fall because the fruit season is ending. The price of tangerines imported from China in June was US$0.15-0.2 a kg (CF, Tan Cang).
Vietnamese
