Fruit and vegetable exports near 7 billion USD target

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in the first 8 months of 2024, the country's fruit and vegetable exports are estimated to reach 4.63 billion USD, an increase of more than 30% over the same period in 2023. It is expected that from now until the end of the year, the export of some key products will continue to increase strongly, which is the basis for the fruit and vegetable industry to reach a turnover of 7 billion USD for the whole year of 2024.

Processing pineapple for export at Dong Giao Food Export Joint Stock Company (Ninh Binh province). (Photo: DUC ANH)

According to the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, in August 2024 alone, Vietnam's fruit and vegetable exports are estimated to reach more than 700 million USD, up 26.8% compared to July 2024 and up 50.8% compared to the same period in 2023. In 8 months, durian exports are estimated to reach 1.82 billion USD, up 45% over the same period last year, contributing 40% to the total fruit and vegetable export turnover. Secretary General of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association Dang Phuc Nguyen said: The double-digit export growth rate in the first 8 months of this year shows that the quality of Vietnam's fruits and vegetables is increasingly improving, meeting the requirements of the markets.

Currently, Vietnam has many advantages to further accelerate its growth rate; especially recently, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam and the General Administration of Customs of China have officially signed the Protocol on phytosanitary requirements and food safety for frozen durian exported from Vietnam to China; Protocol on phytosanitary requirements for fresh coconut exported from Vietnam to China. These are two products that are expected to soon "explode" in turnover when they access the large Chinese market.

General Director of Vina T&T Import Export Trading Service Company Limited Nguyen Dinh Tung said: The company has now fresh coconut export to markets such as the US, Japan... The fact that fresh coconuts are licensed to be exported to the Chinese market will open up great opportunities for the company to boost the growth of this product's turnover. The company also continues to promote the formation of production chains from building raw material growing areas to processing and consuming products to ensure stable output and export quality.

In addition, Vietnamese products such as bananas and mangoes are also taking up a large market share in China. Data from the Chinese Customs Department shows that in the first 6 months of 2024, Vietnam was the largest banana supplier to the Chinese market with nearly 420,000 tons, up 18.5% over the same period last year and accounting for nearly half of the market's banana imports. Compared to the Philippines, China's banana imports from Vietnam were nearly twice as high. Also in the first 6 months of the year, China increased its mango imports from Vietnam with nearly 6,854 tons of mangoes, up 122.3% over the same period in 2023. Vietnam is also the largest mango exporter to China, accounting for more than 50% of the country's total imports.

In addition to the Chinese market, Vietnamese fruits and vegetables are also penetrating deeper into many key markets such as the US, South Korea, and ASEAN. In general, over the past 8 months, Vietnam's fruit and vegetable export turnover to most major markets has grown positively. Particularly in the Korean market, since the beginning of August, fresh grapefruit from Vietnam has been officially licensed for export. Thus, after dragon fruit and mango, grapefruit is the third fruit exported to the Korean market. Before South Korea, some major markets such as the US, New Zealand, etc. have also licensed fresh grapefruit from Vietnam.

According to the Import-Export Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), Vietnam's fruit and vegetable industry has many opportunities to increase exports in the remaining months of this year. Specifically, Vietnam has the advantage of a year-round durian supply, while durian from countries such as Thailand and Malaysia is now at the end of its season. However, in addition to favorable factors, Vietnam's fruit and vegetable industry needs to focus on improving product quality, especially issues related to pesticide residues and heavy metals.

On the other hand, localities and enterprises need to closely monitor the codes of growing areas and packaging facilities to avoid purchasing goods from unlicensed places, affecting export activities; at the same time, promote the segment of deeply processed products to increase added value, meeting the increasing demand of potential markets.

For example, with the coconut industry, developing the processing industry using advanced technology, diversifying products, focusing on rapidly increasing new products such as: dried shredded coconut, coconut milk powder, coconut milk, coconut cream, coconut oil, coconut fiber mats, coconut fiber mattresses, handicraft products, canned coconut water...

In addition, other products such as durian, passion fruit... also have a lot of room to develop deeply processed products.

According to the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, in 2024, processed fruits and vegetables alone could reach an export turnover of 1.4 billion USD, the highest figure ever, not only contributing significantly to increasing the export value of this industry but also helping to prolong the preservation time, reducing consumption pressure for fresh products with large output during the harvest season.

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