Fresh coconut exports expected to increase sharply

The first batches of fresh coconuts have been officially exported to China.

On October 15, a refrigerated truck carrying 2,700 fresh Vietnamese coconuts cleared customs and entered China smoothly through the Hekou border gate in Yunnan Province (China), adjacent to the Lao Cai border gate (Vietnam). This shipment of fresh coconuts had a total weight of 21.6 tons, worth 110,000 yuan (about 15,000 USD), and was the first shipment of fresh Vietnamese coconuts imported by road into China.

Customs officers in Hekou, Yunnan, China inspect the first batch of imported fresh coconuts from Vietnam. Photo: Chinanews

Also on October 15, a shipment of fresh Vietnamese coconuts, weighing 22.4 tons and worth 98,000 yuan (about 14,000 USD), was transported to the Youyiguan border gate in Pingxiang City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and cleared customs into the Chinese market after passing inspection requirements. This is the first time fresh Vietnamese coconuts have been cleared through the Guangxi border gate into China after being licensed to open the market by the country's authorities since last August.

The first batches of fresh Vietnamese coconuts exported to the Chinese market all originated from Ben Tre. This is the latest achievement of the two countries in promoting the import and export of high-quality agricultural products, deepening trade cooperation, in order to implement the spirit of the Joint Statements reached between the two sides in recent times.

Mr. Cao Ba Dang Khoa – General Secretary of the Vietnam Coconut Association – said that many large units have signed contracts to export 30-50 containers, and some businesses have even signed orders to supply 1,500 containers to China. This is a positive sign for the future of the Vietnamese coconut industry in this billion-people market.

Last year, fresh coconut exports to China reached 606,000 tons, up 120% compared to 2018, according to data from the China Fruit Association. The Vietnam Coconut Association expects fresh coconut exports to China to reach $250 million this year, accounting for 25% of the industry's total export value.

On the business side, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tung - General Director of Vina T&T Group - said that through recent agricultural promotion fairs, the company has received many requests to buy fresh coconuts from Chinese partners. Currently, the company has been granted 6 growing area codes and a packaging facility, ready to export this product to the billion-people market.

“Vietnamese coconuts are able to compete with products from Thailand, thanks to the sweet and refreshing taste of the Siamese coconut variety, which is popular in many markets such as the EU, the US, Canada and South Korea,” said Mr. Nguyen Din Tung.

Export value is forecast to increase sharply.

Vietnam currently has about 200,000 hectares of coconut, ranking 7th out of 93 countries worldwide. About one-third of Vietnam's coconut growing area meets US and European organic standards, mainly in the Central Coast provinces and the Mekong Delta (Tra Vinh, Ben Tre). This creates a great advantage for exporting this fruit.

Coconut is becoming one of the crops that bring economic efficiency to people in many provinces and cities. Coconut is also one of the 6 types of trees that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has included in the project and approved the project to develop key industrial crops until 2030. Currently, Vietnam has 15 provinces that grow a lot of coconut with an area of ​​about 200,000 hectares of coconut, with an output of 2 million tons.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in 2023, Vietnam exported 30,000 tons of fresh coconuts to 15 countries around the world and 320,000 tons of processed coconut products. Of which, the output of fresh coconuts exported to China increased by more than 30% thanks to the increasing demand for fresh food, especially products with high nutritional value such as coconuts, in the Chinese market.

According to Mr. Cao Ba Dang Khoa, the fresh coconut industry in Vietnam has only developed strongly in recent years, so there is no standardization of varieties and growing processes, so the quality, design and selling price are not stable. Currently, businesses are actively preparing for the first batch of fresh coconuts to be exported to China and the price of fresh coconuts will certainly be higher.

According to Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tung, fresh Vietnamese coconuts now have good preservation technology, which can extend the preservation time up to 70 days. With such a long preservation time, it is completely possible to bring fresh Vietnamese coconuts to Northern China and other regions while still ensuring the quality when they reach consumers.

“With the goal of bringing Vietnamese fruits to the North and Inner Mongolia region of China, Vina T&T is focusing on fresh coconuts. Currently, Vina T&T has signed contracts with two Chinese enterprises, including a distributor and a logistics enterprise. With these partners, Vina T&T is expecting to be able to export fresh coconut shipments to the Chinese market as soon as possible, possibly even this October,” said Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tung.

According to the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, as of August, fresh coconut exports reached over 100 million USD, up 71% over the same period last year. It is the item with the 6th highest export value after durian, dragon fruit, banana, mango, jackfruit. During the above period, processed coconut exports reached nearly 152 million USD, up 52% ​​over the same period last year, the processed fruit and vegetable item with the highest value. The Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association predicts that in the last months of the year, when businesses can officially export fresh coconut to China, the export value will skyrocket.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/xuat-khau-dua-tuoi-du-bao-se-tang-manh-353395.html