Vietnam's areca nut exports increased sharply by 1,240%

According to a report by the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, in August 2024, Vietnam's areca nut exports reached 9.28 million USD, an increase of 1,240% over the same period in 2023.

In recent years, areca trees have become a crop with quite high income in the Central Highlands as well as some other localities in the country. Some areca purchasing warehouses have also invested in switching from manual processing to modern, high-capacity machinery.

Our country has large areas specializing in growing and processing areca nuts for export to the Chinese market. Accordingly, this fruit sometimes costs only 3,000-7,000 VND/kg, but when China increases imports, the price skyrockets to 60,000-90,000 VND/kg.

According to Tridge, a leading Korean company that analyzes agricultural and food data, China is Vietnam's main export market for areca nuts. Last year, Vietnam exported a total value of 5.13 million USD (more than 130 billion VND) to China. However, the output of areca nuts on China's Hainan Island has decreased sharply this year due to epidemics and storms, leading to the country increasing imports of areca nuts from Vietnam. Areca nut prices in China peaked at 270,000 VND/kg in mid-October, but cooled down to 220,000 VND/kg on October 25.

Vietnam's areca nut exports increased sharply by 1,240%. Photo: MH

Chinese traders have begun to withdraw from their home countries due to lack of information from areca nut candy factories in China. This has made the Vietnamese areca nut market more unstable.

According to a summary report from the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association (VINAFRUIT), in August 2024, Vietnam's areca nut exports reached 9.28 million USD, an increase of 1,240% over the same period in 2023. The cumulative 8 months of 2024 reached 21.2 million USD over the same period last year, an increase of 51.3%. Areca nut became Vietnam's 13th largest export item in the past 8 months; above almonds, lychees, macadamia nuts and rambutans.

On the other hand, according to information from the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, due to limited supply, Vietnam has also increased areca nut imports. In August 2024, areca nut imports reached nearly 3.3 million USD, an increase of 223% over the same period last year; in the first 8 months of 2024, traders and businesses spent nearly 9 million USD to import areca nuts (equivalent to 225 billion VND). Compared to the same period last year, areca nut imports skyrocketed by 324%.

With the above figures, areca nuts ranked 15th and accounted for 0.78% of the import value of the group of fruits and nuts imported to Vietnam in the first 8 months of this year, an increase of 0.37 percentage points over the same period in 2023.

Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen, General Secretary of VINAFRUIT, said: Areca nut is not yet an official export product to the Chinese market. Currently, the product is only exported to China in the form of exchange between border residents. Therefore, this product still has potential risks.

The normal price of fresh areca nuts is only from 20,000 - 30,000 VND/kg. The most recent price spike was in September 2021, reaching 70,000 VND/kg. At that time, experts and authorities also advised people not to follow the temporary price fever because the product was not yet officially allowed to be exported to the Chinese market.

Currently, areca nut is used as a precious medicine. In Oriental medicine, areca nut is a medicine to treat some diseases related to the digestive system, prevent anemia, treat skin allergies, prevent sore throat and keep the body warm...

In addition, young areca nuts are also used to make candy and are an ingredient in many dishes. Areca candy is very popular in China, especially in cold regions, thanks to its ability to prevent sore throats and keep the body warm.

In Nghia Hanh and Son Tinh districts (Quang Ngai), the price of fresh areca nuts is currently only around 20,000 - 30,000 VND/kg. Traders are buying sparingly and the price changes daily, making many people worried. Areca nut purchasing points along the road have taken down their signs and closed their gates to stop buying.

In Son Tay district (Quang Ngai), known as the “land of thousands of areca nuts” with more than 1,000 hectares, purchasing has also slowed down. Some agents said that Chinese traders are currently only purchasing beautiful areca nuts for drying, while most of the drying kilns have temporarily stopped operating due to lack of orders from China.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/xuat-khau-cau-cua-viet-nam-tang-manh-1240-355177.html