The Dak Lak province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is preparing necessary conditions for the shipping of local passion fruit to China, as the fruit has been officially allowed to enter the market.

The preparation includes supporting businesses and farmers in making the fruit meet related requirements.

The Central Highlands province is home to 1,055ha of passion fruit, of which 884ha are yielding 14,703 tonnes annually.

The planting area and production of passion fruit nationwide are continuously increasing, especially in Central Highlands localities. Currently, Vietnam grows the fruit on about 6,000ha across 46 cities and provinces with an annual output of 300,000-400,000 tonnes.

With relevant negotiations beginning in 2006, the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) agreed this year to pilot the import of Vietnamese passion fruit starting in July, making it the 10th Vietnamese fruit permitted to enter the market.

According to the two sides’ agreement on phytosanitary requirements, in the immediate future, GACC permits the import of fresh passion fruit from Vietnam through seven border gates in China's Guangxi province./.