Vietnam will intensify investment in developing well-performing farms, markets and companies nationwide in a move to gain fruit and vegetable export revenues of 700 million U.S. dollars in 2010 and 1 billion dollars in 2015, up from 263 million dollars in 2006.
State moneys will be poured into upgrading and building good farms, wholesales markets, warehouses, and transport centers in southern Ho Chi Minh City, central highlands Lam Dong province and northern Lao Cai province, local newspaper Saigon Liberation on Wednesday quoted sources from the country's Trade Ministry as reporting.
State moneys will also be spent on assisting local enterprises in growing more specialty fruits, including mangosteen, dragon fruit, grapefruit, thick-skinned oranges, mango, star apples, pineapple, litchi and durian, in certain localities, and having more advanced freezing facilities, packing plants, special-use containers and cleaning equipment.
Vietnam exported 71 million dollars worth of fruits and vegetables, mostly to China's mainland, Japan, China's Taiwan and Singapore in the first quarter of this year, a year-on-year rise of 13.9 percent.
Vietnam has eyed 550,000 hectares of vegetables, 750,000 hectares of orchards, and 10,000 hectares of flowers by 2010, which are estimated to annually turn out 9 million tons of fruits, 11 million tons of vegetables, and 3.5 billion of flower sprigs each year, according to the country's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.