Editor's note: 2024 is a 'bumper year' for Vietnam's agricultural sector. Many traditional industries have regained their position, earning record amounts of foreign currency. Farmers in many places have changed their lives thanks to this. In addition, there are new industries that also have bright prospects for acceleration.

Join VietNamNet to look back at the bright picture of Vietnam's agricultural sector last year with the belief in a breakthrough year 2025 through the series of articles 'The Road to Records of Vietnamese Agricultural Products'.

5 years of preparation, accelerating to historic peak

"Every month, the company regularly exports about 320 tons of durian and nearly 500 tons of coconut. In addition, every week, it exports about 3-4 containers of longan (about 16 tons/container), 7-9 containers of dragon fruit," said Vina T&T Group General Director Nguyen Dinh Tung about the company's export orders in early 2025.

According to him, Vietnamese businesses have caught the durian fever in the Chinese market, exploiting strong products such as coconut, longan, grapefruit, mango... to export to many markets. Therefore, orders are always abundant, revenue increases sharply.

Vina T&T contributes to that flow and benefits from the common good. The company's revenue in 2024 will reach about 2,000 billion VND, a sharp increase of 30% compared to the previous year.

According to statistics from the General Department of Customs, after the record of 3.81 billion USD in 2018, the export turnover of fruits and vegetables has almost remained stable, even decreased quite sharply, reaching only 3.26 billion USD in 2020 and 3.36 billion USD in 2022.

But by 2023, our country's fruit and vegetable exports will explode, earning 5.7 billion USD, far exceeding the 3.36 billion USD of 2022 and breaking the record of 3.81 billion USD in 2018.

Last year, the fruit and vegetable industry continued to win big, with export turnover soaring to 7.15 billion USD - the highest level in history, nearly twice the export turnover in 2018.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh, Chairman of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, said that fruits and vegetables are our strong products, present in more than 60 markets. Many key products such as mango, banana, durian... are ranked second in exports to China - the world's largest fruit and vegetable consumer market.

The market share of Vietnamese fruits and vegetables continues to increase strongly in the markets. For example, from 3rd place, Vietnamese fruits and vegetables have risen to 2nd place in China; in the US, they recorded a growth rate of more than 30%; in Thailand, they increased by more than 80%...

The fruit and vegetable industry is accelerating and continuously breaking historical peaks, according to the Chairman of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, which is the result of opening the export market.

Do you remember the time before 2018, vegetables and fruits became the “bright star” of the agricultural sector, with export turnover continuously increasing year by year. However, at that time, vegetable and fruit products mainly went through unofficial channels, while businesses still often “traded on the go”.

Therefore, when markets began to raise quality standards, increase technical barriers, especially China tightened small-scale imports... our country's fruit and vegetable exports stagnated, and goods were sometimes congested.

In recent years, ministries and sectors have made efforts to open up export markets for Vietnamese fruit and vegetable products such as durian, passion fruit, coconut, grapefruit, banana, etc. Because when the market is opened up, not only will export turnover increase sharply, the output of fruit and vegetable products will also be stabilized, but the situation of "good harvest, low price" will also be gradually eliminated.

Typically, Vietnamese durian was once a cheap fruit that had to be “rescued”. However, since mid-2022, the official export protocol to China was signed, exports have skyrocketed, quickly becoming our country’s “billion-dollar fruit”.

In 2024, durian exports will earn nearly 3.3 billion USD, an increase of more than 1 billion USD compared to 2023. Durian accounts for nearly 50% of the total export turnover of the entire fruit and vegetable industry, while setting a new historical record.

Notably, durian prices are always high, helping farmers earn profits of around 1 billion VND/ha. Some households earn up to 50 billion VND in profit after just one harvest, becoming billionaires on the hills.

Along with opening export markets, granting growing area codes, building raw material areas, and improving product quality have made important contributions to helping the fruit and vegetable export industry earn 7.15 billion USD.

Aiming for $10 billion

According to the Key Fruit Tree Development Project issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in 2022, fruit and vegetable export turnover is targeted to reach 5 billion USD by 2025, and strive to earn 6.5 billion USD by 2030.

However, with a strong breakthrough, the export value of this industry in 2024 has far exceeded the project's target of 6.5 billion USD.

Currently, this strength of Vietnam aims to reach 8 billion USD in 2025 and 10 billion USD in the near future.

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In 2024, durian exports will earn nearly 3.3 billion USD, accounting for nearly 50% of the total export turnover of the entire fruit and vegetable industry.

According to Mr. Nguyen Khac Tien - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ameii Vietnam Joint Stock Company - 2023 is the "starting" year for Vietnamese fruit and vegetable exports. Because our country still has potential with many products waiting to open the export market.

However, in order for Vietnamese fruits and vegetables to continue to penetrate deeper into the markets, Mr. Tien noted that it is necessary to improve the management of the production process. In particular, in the chain, farmers must change their mindset and comply with the strict production process required by export enterprises.

Vietnam owns and exploits 1.2 million hectares of fruit growing areas with an annual output of over 12 million tons of fruit. Famous typical products such as durian, banana, jackfruit, grapefruit, lychee, mango, dragon fruit... are highly competitive in the international market.

However, new businesses are strongly exploiting the fresh product segment for export, while processed products only account for less than 14% (about 1 billion USD) of the total export turnover of this industry.

Meanwhile, with modern consumption trends, the demand for processed fruits (juice, dried, frozen) is increasing, convenient for life and work in densely populated cities, especially in markets in Europe, North America, Northeast Asia... Along with that, the global organic product market is expected to reach more than 300 billion USD by 2030 due to the increasing demand for health protection and longevity.

Experts believe that these are "delicious cakes" that the Vietnamese fruit and vegetable industry can exploit in the coming time to maintain growth momentum in exports.

Next article: Dominating global supply, Vietnamese coffee 'changes its life' thanks to the most expensive price in the world

Rapidly reaching a historical peak, selling fruits and vegetables for nearly 1.2 billion USD in just 1 month. Fruit and vegetable exports continue to grow, rapidly reaching a historical peak when "embracing" nearly 1.2 billion USD in just 1 month. The export turnover of this strength in 9 months reached nearly 5.9 billion USD, breaking the historical record of 5.6 billion USD for the whole year of 2023.