Hanoi (VNA) - VinaT&T Import – Export Service Trading Co Ltd last week exported its firstbatch of fresh coconuts to the US, which is considered to be a difficultmarket.

The coconut is a special fruit ofthe Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre, which is known to be the country’spremier coconut growing region.

General Director of Vina T&TNguyen Dinh Tung said that the fruits had been checked and radiated, as per theinternational standards in Vietnam, before they were shipped to the US.

“The company’s partner will checkit again in the US. After that, we will export five containers of freshcoconuts to this market, which is known to set high standards in terms of thequality of fresh fruit imports,” Tung said.

The company successfullynegotiated with its partner to export coconut to the US, which mainly importedthe fruit from Thailand, he said. “A disadvantage for the Vietnamese coconut isthe price, which is about 20 percent higher than that of Thailand, making itdifficult to negotiate. We finally overcame it,” Tung said.

Vina T&T occupies 40 percentof the Vietnam’s export market share in the US. The company has exportedlongan, dragon fruit, durian, rambutan and coconut to the US. It has receivedthe licence to export star apple to the US and is awaiting the fruit harvestseason.

“We buy fruits from the areasthat grow them in bulk. We then radiate and package them before exporting. Eachvariety of fruit has a unique manner of radiation and package. We have tostrictly follow the standards given by our US partners,” he said.

"I have recently signed acontract to buy 60 tonnes of longan, a specialty of the northern province of HungYen, for export to the US. I will transfer the packaging technology to thelocal growers, and then ship the fruits to HCM City for radiation,” he added.

Vietnam last year earned 2.4billion USD from the export of fruits and vegetables, of which 6 million USDcame from Vina T&T.

With the market showing positivesigns last year, the company has set the target to earn 12 million USD,doubling last year’s figures. In the first seven months of this year, thecompany earned 8 million USD.

According to the latest figurefrom the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam made 360million USD through the export of fruits and vegetables in July, taking it to 2.03billion USD in the first seven months of this year, while marking anincrease of 48.9 percent, compared with the same period last year.

Meanwhile, the country spent 216million USD to import fruits and vegetables in July, taking the total valuesince early this year to 852 million USD, doubling the figure in the sameperiod last year. The country’s largest export markets were Thailand and China,with a market share of 57 percent and 16.8 percent, respectively.

To reach the target of 3 billionUSD from the export of fruits and vegetable this year or a higher target nextyear, Tung said it was necessary to have the businesses consulting andparticipating in the country’s trade promotion programmes.

“In addition to this, we shouldchoose fruits that can be harvested throughout the year, such as pomelo,soursop, mandarin and orange, for export. The businesses need the Government’ssupport on storage technology,” Tung added.-VNA