RoK increases banana imports from Vietnamese market
VOV.VN - Vietnam made up the sixth largest supplier of bananas to the Republic of Korea (RoK) during the opening five months of the year after exporting 2,900 tonnes, worth US$2.3 million to the market, according to the Korea International Trade Association (KITA).
This figure represents an annual increase of 13.6% in volume and 48.3% in value, the KITA said.
The association revealed that the RoK imported a total of 155,300 tonnes of bananas valued at US$131.5 million throughout the reviewed period, up 3.4% in volume and 8% in value year on year.
The average price of bananas exported to the RoK increased by 4.5% compared to last year’s corresponding period, hitting US$846.3 per tonnes.
However, the average price of bananas imported from Vietnam remained low at US$791.6 per tonne, with the import proportion from Vietnam making up 1.9% of the RoK’s total banana imports.
According to industry experts, Vietnam continues to enjoy advantages in terms of increasing its market share in the RoK. This is largely due to preferential import duties which are in line with the Vietnam-Korea Free Trade Agreement (VKFTA).
Yet, Vietnamese bananas continue to face fierce competition with those from the Philippines, which continues to represent the largest provider of this fruit to the RoK.
Bananas remain a popular fruit in the RoK, although they must be imported due to unfavourable local farming conditions.
