The EU’s huge demand for those products, reaching US$46.6 billion in its annual import earnings, is the main reason for this, the e-newspaper said.

It added that the Netherlands is opening a three-year training course to help Vietnamese vegetable exporters understand EU regulations and increase their capacity to market their produces to the EU. A similar training course will also be held for exporters from Ho Chi Minh city and the four southern provinces of Vietnam, the newspaper said.

Last year, Vietnam fruit and vegetable exports to 50 countries over the world earned US$300 million, but only US$90,000 of which were from the EU’s 27 member countries.