HCMC – Vietnam’s dragon fruit exports to Japan and South Korea in January fell strongly against the same period last year.

General Department of Vietnam data showed exports of dragon fruits to over 40 countries and territories brought total revenue of over US$47 million in the first month of the year, a 48.7% decline over the year-ago period.

China was the largest buyer of Vietnam’s dragon fruits, accounting for 47.1% of Vietnam’s dragon fruit export value in January, equal to US$37 million, plummeting 52.9% year-on-year.

Dragon fruit exports to South Korea totaled US$694,000, down nearly 26% year-on-year, and the figure to Japan was US$273,000, down 35.4%.

South Korea is now the sixth largest buyer of Vietnam’s dragon fruit by revenue after China, India, the U.S., Thailand and the Netherlands. Japan ranks 11th.

According to an exporter, the volume of Vietnam’s dragon fruit exported to the Japanese and South Korean markets was 5,000 tons last year.