The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam and the General Administration of Customs of China have just signed three Protocols on exporting Vietnamese agricultural products to the Chinese market; in which, fresh coconut is one of three official products officially exported to the billion-people market.
Processing fresh coconut for export at Mekong Fruit Company Limited, Huu Dinh Commune, Chau Thanh District, Ben Tre Province. Ben Tre is known as the "Land of Coconuts in Vietnam" with an area of over 79,000 hectares, the largest in the country, with an output of over 700 million fruits; of which, industrial coconuts account for about 75%, the rest are drinking coconuts. Coconuts have long been identified as a key crop, helping the locality earn more than 400 million USD each year from exporting coconut products. Currently, local authorities, people and businesses in the area are actively preparing to export fresh coconuts to the Chinese market in the coming time. Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Ben Tre Doan Van Danh said that the province currently has 133 basic growing areas that meet the production conditions according to current regulations; registered for codes for fresh coconut growing areas for export with an area of nearly 8,400 hectares and over 12,800 participating households. These numbers are about raw material areas that meet the requirements stated in the Protocol on phytosanitary requirements for with fresh Vietnamese coconuts exported to China. Mr. Bui Duong Thuat, Director of Mekong Fruit Import-Export Company Limited, Huu Dinh Commune, Chau Thanh District (Ben Tre) said: All documents on growing area codes, the unit has sent to the Plant Protection Department and is waiting for the agency's move and the Chinese side to inspect. According to Mr. Thuat, the signing of the Protocol is a very important step, creating the premise for the story of building growing area codes and factory codes. Currently, the company's growing area code is under construction with an area of more than 40 hectares out of the company's total nearly 200 hectares of growing area to prepare to serve the Chinese market. When the Protocol is signed to import Vietnamese drinking coconuts, coconut exporting enterprises will have another big customer. Because, every year, this "billion-people" market consumes a very large amount of coconuts, especially in the summer, almost all of Thailand or coconut growing countries lack output to supply the Chinese market. However, the company's concern is that in the summer, the strong purchasing power of coconuts in the Chinese market will push up the cost of input materials, thereby affecting the general market. Currently, the company has exported to 10 countries around the world with a capacity of about 30-40 containers of fresh coconuts per month. Since the beginning of the year, Mekong Fruit Import-Export Company Limited has exported about 3 million fresh coconuts to foreign markets - Mr. Thuat shared. According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Ben Tre, in recent times, people's awareness of participating in the cooperative economy associated with building agricultural value chains has increasingly increased. The province has initially formed raw material areas, linking in production and consumption of products. In the coconut chain alone, up to now, there are 32 cooperative groups and 34 cooperatives participating in the production area associated with the coconut value chain with a scale of more than 10,094 hectares and 7,048 members. The area of coconut produced according to organic standards is 20,400 hectares (accounting for about 25% of the total coconut area of the province); of which the certified area is 13,000 hectares according to the standards of the US, Japan, EU, China, Korea, Taiwan (China). Chairman of Ben Tre Provincial People's Committee Tran Ngoc Tam said: The province always pays attention to and creates all conditions for building mechanisms and policies to attract investment and promote the application of science and technology in coconut production and processing associated with domestic consumption needs and international markets. Specifically, the province has policies, guidelines and orientations to maximize the value of coconut trees such as: Plan to build concentrated coconut production areas, associated with value chain development in the period 2021-2025 and orientation to 2030; Resolution No. 07-NQ/TU dated January 29, 2021 of the Provincial Party Committee on building concentrated production areas, linking the development of value chains of key agricultural products in Ben Tre province for the period 2020 - 2025 and orientation to 2030; Program No. 08-CTr/TU dated January 29, 2021 of the Provincial Party Committee on developing key industries and business forces of the province for the period 2020-2025, vision to 2030; Plan to implement the Project on developing key industrial crops (coconut trees) to 2030. According to the People's Committee of Ben Tre province, in order to concretize the Project on developing key industrial crops to 2030 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in accordance with the local situation, the province has developed a Plan to implement the Project on developing key industrial crops (coconut trees) to 2030. Ben Tre aims to stabilize the area of coconut gardens, improve productivity, quality, and economic efficiency of coconut gardens; develop the area of coconut gardens cultivated in an organic direction on the basis of linking sustainable value chains. The locality ensures traceability of coconut products through organic certification, GAP and equivalent; grants planting area codes, packaging facility codes, etc. according to the requirements of domestic and foreign markets.
Packing fresh coconut for export at Mekong Fruit Company Limited, Huu Dinh Commune, Chau Thanh District, Ben Tre Province.
In addition, the province builds programs and plans for research and testing of coconut varieties, providing high-quality coconut seedlings for the need of new planting and renovation of old, ineffective coconut gardens; experimental demonstration of advanced coconut cultivation models with high economic efficiency. Along with research and development, diversification, and deep processing of coconut products to meet market demand, the province simultaneously develops the export market for coconut products, builds a solid brand in the main export market; increases the export value of the coconut industry, production efficiency, rural people's lives and environmental protection.
In the 2024-2025 period, Ben Tre aims to stably develop the coconut area of about 79,000 hectares. The province builds a concentrated coconut production area, associated with value chain development, high technology application, circular production and deep processing of coconut products. Specifically, the province develops 1,500 hectares of organic coconut, bringing the total organic coconut area of the province to 20,000 hectares; the coconut area granted a growing area code is about 2,000 hectares. During this period, the production value of the coconut processing industry increases by an average of 17.2% per year; coconut export turnover increases by an average of 23.58% per year, reaching about 1 billion USD. Next, in the 2026-2030 period, Ben Tre strives to maintain and stably develop the coconut area of about 80,000 hectares. During this period, the province developed 5,000 hectares of organic coconut, bringing the total organic coconut area in the province to 25,000 hectares. The coconut area granted a growing area code is about 6,000 hectares. The production value of the coconut processing industry increased by an average of 15.74%/year; coconut export turnover increased by an average of 14.87%/year, reaching about 2 billion USD. According to Vice Chairman of Ben Tre Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Minh Canh, to achieve the goal of developing key industrial crops (coconut trees) by 2030, the province will synchronously implement solutions on propaganda; build concentrated production areas associated with value chain development; promote the application of science and technology in coconut production and processing; promote market development, trade promotion, and tourism service development. The province regularly updates information and regulations on coconut import and export of countries around the world to promptly inform and transfer to coconut processing and exporting enterprises. At the same time, mobilize and encourage businesses to participate in the production and consumption chain of coconuts, contributing to promoting the growth of the coconut industry in particular and the agricultural sector in general. In order to develop stable and sustainable concentrated coconut production areas, the province will accelerate the progress of building coconut value chains, developing organic coconut production, and building codes for fresh coconut growing areas to meet the maximum demand for quality coconut materials for processing and export of businesses inside and outside the province. By 2025, the province will maintain and develop 20,000 hectares of organic coconuts, 2,000 hectares of fresh coconuts with growing area codes. By 2030, maintain and develop 25,000 hectares of organic coconuts, 6,000 hectares of fresh coconuts with growing area codes.
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