Vietnam: Everyone joins in to consume dragon fruit

Vietnam's agricultural exports, with a focus on vegetables, fruits, and dragon fruit, have seen significant growth, reaching a value of 3.52 billion USD in 2021. However, the industry faces challenges due to strict food safety and quarantine regulations, natural disasters, and epidemics, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite these challenges, dragon fruit exports alone generated over 998 million USD in 2021, with China being the primary market. Vietnam plants over 20,000 hectares of the fourteen most significant fruit crops, producing about 1.4 million tons of dragon fruit annually. The country has granted 3,636 planting area codes to meet import market quarantine requirements, covering 196,472 hectares across 50 provinces and cities, with a significant portion dedicated to dragon fruit. However, there have been violations in exports to China, leading to warnings from the Chinese General Department of Customs. The Plant Protection Department is collaborating with Chinese customs to address these issues and maintain market access.