Many new export opportunities for fruits and vegetables
Báo Tin Tức•24/09/2024
Many domestic fruit exporting enterprises recognize that Vietnam's fruit and vegetable import markets now all have high requirements, not just the US, Australia or Europe markets as before.
With increasingly stringent requirements, units are seriously implementing traceability and food safety criteria, perfecting the chain, forming quality products to create many new export opportunities.
Packing green-skinned grapefruit products for export in Mo Cay Bac district, Ben Tre province. Photo: Hong Dat/VNA
Many fruits are "passed" Through many visits, working sessions and negotiations to open the market for Vietnamese fruits, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has opened up "pass" opportunities for Vietnamese fruits in both fresh and processed export forms. Over the past month, the Korean market has welcomed Vietnamese grapefruit, while the Chinese market has also opened its doors to fresh coconuts and frozen durian products from Vietnam. Meanwhile, in the US market, Vietnamese passion fruit has completed the negotiation process on technical requirements... to export to the US. Opening many markets for fruit product lines as well as diversifying types will help diversify the market, diversify export products, reduce pressure on harvest seasons, and create greater added value for Vietnamese fruits. According to Ms. Alexis M. Taylor, Under Secretary of Commerce and Foreign Affairs of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), agricultural products between the US and Vietnam have many points that can complement each other, especially Vietnamese fruits, which have many varieties that cannot be found in the US. Currently, 8 types of Vietnamese fruits have been officially exported to the US, including dragon fruit, mango, grapefruit, rambutan, longan, lychee, star apple, and coconut. In the opposite direction, Vietnam has opened its import market for US fruits including oranges, grapes, cherries, pears, peaches, nectarines, blueberries, and apples. For durian, a fruit that has been "rising" strongly in the past 2 years, the process has also been completed to meet the criteria of the Protocol on the side of the Chinese Customs to easily enter this market. Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien shared that according to the Protocol on requirements for inspection, plant quarantine and food safety for frozen durian from Vietnam exported to China, frozen durian (Durio zibethinus) includes whole durian (with shell), pureed durian (without shell) and durian pulp (without shell), originating from fresh, ripe durian grown in Vietnam. Seizing the new opportunity for durian products to enter the Chinese market, durian producing localities have also built raw material areas with many delicious, high-quality durian varieties; associated with cultivation processes, growing area codes, and packaging facilities. Lots of room for export
Packaging ground coffee products for the domestic market at the Classic Coffee Company factory in Pleiku city. Photo: Vu Sinh/VNA
According to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnamese fruits are now present in 60 markets around the world. Ms. Phan Thi Thu Hien, Director of the Post-Import Quarantine Center II - Plant Protection Department (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) said that each import market has its own regulations from food hygiene and safety to food quarantine in export shipments. Currently, the requirements for importing fruits from countries are divided into two groups. The first group only requires basic requirements, the fruits are not contaminated with plant quarantine objects and do not leave pesticide residues. The second group, with more difficult requirements, belongs to the group of markets of demanding countries or countries with high quality requirements such as the US, Australia, Japan, Korea, etc. These markets also require plant quarantine. Units are placing their own markets in the second group of export markets to improve production capacity and exploit export potential. Ms. Alexis M. Taylor, Under Secretary of Commerce and Foreign Affairs of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), shared that the US market still has a lot of room for Vietnamese fruits. However, when exploring any market, businesses need to invest. Businesses need to be there to find out what consumers are waiting for and expecting... and the same is true in the agricultural sector. In the US, the Vietnamese community is quite large. Therefore, businesses should choose a certain area, a certain state or a certain community to penetrate. Because, wanting to meet all the needs of consumers in the US market is a huge challenge.
For other markets such as China, when this market accepts Vietnam's frozen durian products, it also opens up more market space for Vietnam to exploit. According to Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen, General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, the exploitation of frozen durian products will help limit the backlog of goods during the main season. This is a channel to help regulate output to stabilize prices, increasing income for farmers and businesses. At the same time, it is also the starting point for processed durian products and durian preservation technology, a springboard for durian to exploit many other market spaces besides China. In addition to China and the US market, the European market is also showing an interest in tropical fruits with health care effects and fresh flavors.
Canned coconut water processing line at Betrimex Company, Ben Tre. Photo: Xuan Anh/VNA
According to the Vietnam Trade Office in Belgium and Europe, tropical fruits such as pomegranate, dragon fruit, rambutan, etc. are considered specialties in this market. This is an opportunity for cooperatives and enterprises exporting Vietnamese fruits to conquer large markets such as Europe. However, the demand in each country is different, for example, Germany has the largest consumption of imported foreign fruits, especially pomegranates and currants, while France and Belgium have high demand for seasonal fruits such as lychees and pomegranates. However, the representative of the Vietnam Trade Office in Belgium and Europe also noted that the fruits reaching consumers are guaranteed to be fresh, delicious and of good quality. Especially the products are clean, sustainable and pesticide-free. When meeting quality standards, Vietnamese fruits have more opportunities to be known to other markets and consumers in demanding countries will also prioritize their choice. At this time, what needs to be done in the game of exploiting the market and increasing the competitiveness of processed fruit products in general and frozen durian in particular is for the authorities to soon develop national standards for processed product lines to have a basis for assessing product quality before entering the world market.
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