Vietnamese and US officials at the meeting to announce the US's requirements for pomelo import from Vietnam on October 17. (Photo: VNA)

Pomelo is the 7th fresh fruit of Vietnam to be licensed to enter the US market, following mango, longan, lychee, dragon fruit, rambutan, and star apple, said Hoang Trung, Director of the Plant Protection Department at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, at meeting in Hanoi Monday.

The US has great demand for fruit, up to 12 million tons each year. Its domestic production has met just 70% of the demand while the remaining 30%, equivalent to 3.6 million tonnes, is imported. Vietnam has about 105,000ha of land growing diverse varieties of pomelo, generating nearly 905,000 tonnes of fruit. The Mekong Delta houses about 32,000ha with an output of some 369,000 tonnes.