New Delhi (VNA) – A promotional event washeld in New Delhi, India on September 25 for dragon fruits from the southcentral province of Binh Thuan in an effort to expand ties between agriculturalexporters from Vietnam and Indian firms.

Present at the event at the India International Centre wereVietnamese Ambassador to India Ton Sinh Thanh; Director of the Binh ThuanDepartment of Industry and Trade, or the organizer, Do Minh Kinh; President ofIndian Importers Chambers of Commerce and Industries Atul Kumar; and Chairmanof the Trade Promotion Council of India Mohit Singla, alongside representativesof local enterprises.

Addressing the event, Ambassador Thanh briefed attendeeson Vietnam and the advantages of Binh Thuan in tourism and agriculture. He saidhe expects such promotional events will further trade relations between the twocountries.

Through the event, the Binh Thuan Department of Industryand Trade hopes to introduce and promote dragon fruits, one of the province’skey currency earners in India, and provide a platform for businesses of bothsides to meet, said director Kinh.

During the visit to India, officials from Binh Thuan are alsoscheduled to meet with the Trade Promotion Council of India and Reliance RetailLimited, a leading retailer in India. They will attend an international foodand beverage trade show in Mumbai and hold another promotional event for dragonfruit at Sofitel Mumbai BKC hotel.

Dragon fruit is an agriculture staple of Vietnam, withBinh Thuan home to more than 27,000 hectares of the fruit.

Dragon fruit has dominated Vietnamese fruit exports inthe first four months of 2018, with total exports reaching 427 million USD, ayear-on-year increase of 9 percent.

According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, dragon fruit accountedfor 32 percent of total exports of Vietnamese vegetables and fruits. Revenuefrom dragon fruit exports was nearly four times higher than the two fruitexports ranked below it – longan, which had an export value of 121 million USD,and mangos, whose export value stood at 104 million USD.

Binh Thuan produces more than 600,000 tonnes of dragonfruit annually, making it the country’s largest trading hub of the fruit. Itsdragon fruits have been shipped to more than 16 countries and territories.

As of late 2017, the province boasted more than 9,500hectares of dragon fruit farms at Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practice(VietGAP) standards. It is striving to add 300 more hectares this year. –VNA