HANOI, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's northern Hai Duong province, home to a special kind of lichi called "thieu", plans to export 1,000 tons of the fruit in 2018, the provincial authorities said on Monday.

"Thieu" litchi trees are grown according to VietGAP or GlobalGAP standards, meeting strict requirements of export markets such as the United States, Australia and the European Union. "Thieu" litchi is also exported to the Chinese market.

Hai Duong currently has some 10,500 hectares of litchi trees, mainly "thieu" litchi in Thanh Ha district and Chi Linh town, with a total output of some 60,000 tons of the fresh fruit.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade has accelerated negotiations with some foreign countries to intensify export of star-apple and mango to the U.S. market, red dragon fruit to Japan, litchi, longan and rambutan to Australia, and other fruits and vegetables to new markets.

Vietnam gained nearly 1.7 billion U.S. dollars from exporting fruits and vegetables in the first five months of this year, posting a year-on-year rise of 19.6 percent, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.?