Vietnam Mekong Delta farmers benefit from export of grapefruits to China

Vietnam's Mekong Delta farmers have benefited greatly from export of grapefruits to China, according to local traders

Green-skin grapefruits from Vietnam's southern Mekong Delta have been in great demand in Chinese market, Dam Van Hung, a fruit trader in the southern Ben Tre province, said, quoted in a local newspaper -- Sai Gon Giai Phong on Wednesday.

Hung said that recently, many Chinese partners have continuously urged for purchasing unlimited volume of green-skin grapefruits.

According to Hung, the No. 1 green-skin grapefruit is now sold at a relatively high price of some 55,000 Vietnamese dong (2.44 U.S. dollars) per kilo. The export price of the fruit to China is even higher.

Over the past three months, each day, Hung's fruit base shipped some 20-40 tons of green-skin grapefruits to China, according to the report

So far this year, his base has exported around 1,000 tons of green-skin grapefruits to Chinese markets at a relatively high price, it added.

"In some European countries and in Canada, if green-skin grapefruit price exceeds 40,000-50,000 Vietnamese dong (1.77-2.22 U.S. dollars) per kg, the customers will pause their imports due to a high price," said Hung.

"However, customers in China remain interested in the Mekong Delta's green-skin grapefruits and agree to buy at a high price. This brings benefit to Vietnamese farmers in the delta," he said.

"Over the past time, while buying green-skin grapefruits from my base, most Chinese partners have paid in cash at once, pre-paid before the delivery, or paid at the border gate before the shipments enter China," the trader revealed. Endit