Vietnam is stepping up measures to maintain dragon fruit exports to the European Union (EU) amid increasingly stringent food safety and pesticide residue regulations imposed by the bloc.

Vietnam’s efforts in expanding export markets for its fruit and vegetables in 2024 has paid off as for the first time, the export of these products has brought home US$7.2 billion, much higher than the figure of US$3.3 billion two years ago.

Together with electronic devices, agricultural products like rice, coffee, tea, pepper, chilli, dragon fruit and processed food are Vietnam’s key export items to Guangdong, China, according to an official.

A conference was held in Ho Chi Minh City on September 29 to discuss ways for securing sustainable dragon fruit development in Vietnam amid uncertainties in global markets.

Australia has so far opened its market for four kinds of fresh fruit from Vietnam - dragon fruit, lychee, mango and longan, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has announced that the country's total export value of dragon fruit so far this year topped US$47 million, a fall of 48.7% compared to the same period last year.

Demand for Vietnamese dragon fruit in foreign markets is increasing, with many importers interested in high-quality fruit from Vietnam.

VOV.VN - Dragon fruit businesses of Binh Thuan, Long An and Tien Giang are due to attend an online conference jointly hosted by the Vietnamese Embassy in India and the Ministry of Industry and Trade to promote the export of this fruit to India.

The US is a potential market for Vietnamese fruit and vegetable exports thanks to the diverse distribution system along with a 3-million-strong overseas Vietnamese community, according to the Vietnamese Trade Office in the US.

More than 3,600 tonnes of fresh lychees from the northern provinces of Hai Duong, Bac Giang and Vinh Phuc were exported to China via Lao Cai province’s Kim Thanh II international border gate from May 8 to 24.