Official export of fresh coconut to the Chinese market

On October 25, in Ben Tre, the announcement ceremony of the official export of fresh Ben Tre coconut to the Chinese market took place.

The event was organized by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Ben Tre province in coordination with Vietnam Mini Digital Investment and Trading Joint Stock Company - Ben Tre Branch.

At the ceremony, Mr. Doan Van Danh - Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Ben Tre province said that Ben Tre is the province with the largest coconut area in the country with over 80,010 hectares and this area has been continuously increasing in recent years.

Signing of coconut purchase and sale contract between Chinese and Vietnamese enterprises (Photo: Huyen Trang)

Coconut trees play an important role in the economic and social life of Ben Tre province when more than 70% of the province's population lives on coconuts. Coconut trees have been approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development as an industrial tree in the Project on developing key industrial trees until 2030. In particular, Ben Tre green coconut products have been granted a certificate of trademark protection and a national certificate of geographical indication.

In 2023, Vietnam submitted an application to open the market for fresh coconuts to the Chinese market. Over the past year, the plant quarantine agencies of the two countries have had many technical exchanges to agree on plant quarantine treatment measures. After many negotiations, the plant quarantine agencies of the two sides have reached an agreement on the conditions for importing fresh coconuts from Vietnam to this potential market.

With the efforts of provincial and local departments, Ben Tre now has 133 growing areas and 14 packaging facilities granted export codes to the Chinese market.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Huynh Tan Dat, Director of the Plant Protection Department (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) said that Vietnam is currently the 6th country in the world in terms of coconut production, with about 1.9 million tons per year, of which Ben Tre province contributes a large part, reaching 688 million fruits in 2022.

Therefore, opening the Chinese market for fresh Vietnamese coconuts is a golden opportunity. With a population of over 1.4 billion people and domestic demand meeting only about 10%, China is a large potential market for our coconut products.

It is expected that if this opportunity is well taken advantage of, coconut exports to China can bring in an additional 200-300 million USD in 2024 and contribute to bringing Vietnam's total coconut export turnover to the 1 billion USD mark in the near future.

“Ben Tre's official export of fresh coconuts to the Chinese market marks a new step forward in the continuous effort to expand the market and raise the position of Vietnamese agricultural products in the international arena,” said Mr. Huynh Tan Dat.

Also on this occasion, the Director of the Plant Protection Department called on all production, packaging and export units to strictly comply with regulations on food safety, quality standards and plant quarantine procedures as mentioned in the Protocol and related regulations.

Compliance with the Protocol and related Chinese regulations will not only improve the quality of our products but also open up opportunities to access other markets around the world.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/ben-tre-xuat-khau-chinh-ngach-dua-tuoi-sang-thi-truong-trung-quoc-354716.html