HANOI, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's agricultural export value to China is expected to increase sharply this year, the Vietnam News reported Wednesday, citing the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

       The prediction was made as China agrees to review regulations permitting exports of poultry meat from Vietnam to the market, according to the report.

       The newspaper cited Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam as saying that potential for exporting meat from Vietnam to China is many times higher than that of vegetables and fruits.

       With a market of 1.4 billion people, China's consumer demand for meat products is up to about 400 billion U.S. dollars per year, he said.

       He said in the future, Vietnam expected livestock products to join the list of products gaining export value worth billions of dollars, if the country can sign a protocol on poultry meat export with China, and continue to negotiate a protocol on pork export to the market.

       Exports of milk and milk products account for 93 percent of total export value of Vietnam's livestock products to China, according to the ministry.