Fruit and vegetable exports in January 2025 are estimated to reach less than 400 million USD.

Fruit and vegetable exports in January forecast to decrease by 5.2%

Speaking to reporters of the Industry and Trade Newspaper, Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen - General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association - said that the Association synthesized data from the General Department of Customs and made a forecast that in January 2025, fruit and vegetable exports would reach a preliminary 416.528 million USD, down 11.3% compared to the previous month (December 2024 reached 529.056 million USD) and down 5.2% compared to the same period in 2024 (January 2024 reached 490.218 million USD).

Durian is the export item that brings in the largest turnover of the fruit and vegetable industry in 2024.

On the other hand, the preliminary import turnover of fruits and vegetables in January 2025 reached 284.530 million USD, down 6.6% compared to the previous month (December 2024 reached 304.277 million USD) and up 31.4% over the same period (January 2024 reached 216.595 million USD). Thus, in January 2025, the fruit and vegetable industry is expected to have a trade surplus of about 131.998 million USD.

However, with difficulties in exporting durian to the Chinese market due to issues related to yellow O, Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen said that fruit and vegetable exports in January 2025 are estimated to reach less than 400 million USD.

Previously, the Import-Export Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade) cited data from the General Department of Customs saying that in 2024, Vietnam's fruit and vegetable exports recorded a record high with a turnover of approximately 7.15 billion USD, an increase of 27.6% compared to 2023. In December 2024 alone, Vietnam's fruit and vegetable exports reached over 529 million USD, an increase of 15.5% compared to November 2024 and an increase of 29.8% compared to December 2023.

In 2024, the Vietnamese fruit and vegetable industry has successfully exploited most of its traditional and potential export markets, except for the Netherlands market. According to data from the General Department of Customs, Vietnam's fruit and vegetable export turnover to key markets all recorded high growth in 2024 compared to 2023.

Accordingly, the export turnover of fruits and vegetables to China reached over 4.63 billion USD, up 27.3%; the United States increased by 39.8%; South Korea increased by 39.6%; Thailand increased by 73.7%; Japan increased by 15.3%; Taiwan (China) market increased by 10.9%; Australia increased by 25.9%... This reflects the efforts of the fruit and vegetable industry in improving quality, meeting strict market standards, especially taking advantage of opportunities brought by FTAs.

Concerns about the $8 billion target

The Import-Export Department commented that many positive signals from the international market are opening up good opportunities for the Vietnamese fruit and vegetable industry in 2025. The demand for fruits, vegetables and processed products in the world tends to increase due to health benefits.

According to https://www.statista.com, the revenue in the global fresh fruit market will reach 778.4 billion USD by 2025. The average annual growth rate is expected to be 6.22% during the period 2025 - 2029. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese fruit and vegetable industry is increasingly asserting its position in the world market.

Currently, the Vietnamese fruit and vegetable industry holds the second largest market share in China, and its market share in traditional export markets such as the United States, Japan, South Korea, the EU, Australia, etc. is increasingly expanding. This is considered the basis for the Vietnamese fruit and vegetable industry to achieve the export target of 8 billion USD in 2025.

However, trade competition between the United States and China; geopolitical conflicts in some countries are major challenges for fruit and vegetable exports in 2025. In addition, the challenge for our country's fruit and vegetable industry is that the supply chain still has many limitations such as: products are easily contaminated with chemicals, violating pesticide residues due to the small and scattered production scale in many places, leading to uneven quality; or lack of market information, making it difficult to apply the standards set by importing countries.

For the fruit and vegetable export industry to stabilize and grow sustainably, the Import-Export Department recommends that there should be close links between farmers, cooperatives, cooperatives and businesses. Cooperation will help increase the value of agricultural products and affirm the Vietnamese brand on the global export map.

Currently, durian accounts for nearly 50% of Vietnam's total fruit and vegetable export turnover. Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen commented that if the difficulties in export markets are not resolved soon, the target of 8 billion USD in exports set for this year will be difficult to achieve.

The Border Gate Management Center, Dong Dang - Lang Son Border Gate Economic Zone Management Board has just announced the customs clearance time during the Lunar New Year holiday of At Ty year 2025 at the border gates and customs clearance routes: Huu Nghi, Chi Ma, Tan Thanh, Coc Nam.

Accordingly, at Huu Nghi international border gate and Tan Thanh dedicated road, customs clearance of goods will be temporarily suspended from January 28 to January 31 so that China can celebrate the Lunar New Year holiday according to regulations.

From February 1 to February 4, customs clearance of pre-registered import and export goods will be carried out. From February 5, customs clearance will return to normal.

For entry and exit flows at Huu Nghi international border gate, from January 28 to February 4, customs clearance will still be carried out normally.

Chi Ma border gate is also closed for Tet, stopping customs clearance for import and export goods from January 28 to February 4. Immigration flows at this border gate are still operating normally during the above time, but working hours are only from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (Hanoi time).

At the Coc Nam customs clearance, customs clearance was normal on January 26. From February 28 to February 4, China will be closed for the Lunar New Year according to regulations. From February 5, customs clearance will return to normal.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/xuat-khau-rau-qua-thang-12025-uoc-dat-duoi-400-trieu-usd-370927.html