HANOI - China consumed some 70.4 percent of Vietnamese fruit in the first 11 months of 2016, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) on Thursday.

Among major markets, South Korea followed China to rank second by buying 3.6 percent of Vietnamese fruit exports.

Vietnamese fruit export revenue reached $2.178 billion during the 11-month period. Turnover of fruit export this year is expected to exceed that of rice and become the nation's major export commodity, said MARD.

The ministry said fruit export has witnessed the fastest growth rate among agricultural produces and ranks the third on the nine agriculture-forestry-fishery produce list with high value.

Meanwhile, from January to November, dragon fruit tops the list of 29 Vietnamese-grown tropical fruits for export, with turnover of $700 million. Impressive growth was also seen in longan and watermelon exports, local Sai Gon Giai Phong (Sai Gon Liberation) online newspaper quoted MARD as saying.

In its planning for fruit export growth, the ministry focuses on 12 major fruits including dragon fruit, mango, rambutan, durian, star apple, grape fruit, longan, banana, pineapple, orange, custard-apple and tangerine.

However, Vietnamese fruit export faced difficulties including quarantine and food safety regulation.

Le Van Banh, head of the MARD's Department of Processing and Trade for Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Products and Salt Production, said the country needs to perform radiation treatment and growing fruits as per international standards.

In addition, cultivation areas should be planned for each market and farm address according to regulation, said Banh.