[INDUSTRY INSIGHTS] Vietnam Fruit and vegetable exports in the first 6 months of 2024 reached 3.4 billion USD

Vietnam's fruit and vegetable exports are forecast to continue to be favorable in the coming time thanks to abundant domestic supply and increasing demand from traditional and potential markets.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in the first half of 2024, fruit and vegetable exports reached 3.4 billion USD, up 28% over the same period last year.

Vietnam's fruit and vegetable exports are forecast to continue to be favorable in the coming time, the agricultural sector is still working with localities to build specialized cultivation areas linked to value chains, promoting growth momentum.

The Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association said that durian, dragon fruit, banana and longan are fruits that contribute greatly to the growth of fruit and vegetable exports.

Dragon fruit cleaning and packaging line for export

In addition to processed products, key markets also recorded an increase of 10-50% compared to the same period last year.

China, Thailand and South Korea are still major markets, as by the end of May, these markets increased imports by 30-60% compared to the same period last year.

China alone, in the first 5 months of the year, this market imported about 1.7 billion USD of Vietnamese fruits and vegetables, an increase of 33% compared to the same period in 2023.

According to the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, Vietnam's fruit and vegetable export activities are forecast to continue to be favorable in the coming time thanks to abundant domestic supply, demand from traditional and potential markets tends to increase.

In particular, some fruits such as durian have entered the main harvest season; dragon fruit, pineapple, watermelon, mango, longan... will contribute to further growth in the Chinese market.

The largest durian growing area in Vietnam is currently in the Central Highlands provinces and will enter the peak harvest season in September and October.

Last year, this was the period of record-high durian exports for Vietnam because Thailand ran out of stock. This year, due to the impact of El Nino, dragon fruit sales worldwide have plummeted.

In countries in Europe, North America, supplies from Mexico and South American countries have also failed this year, creating opportunities for Vietnamese goods to conquer the markets.

Packaging Vietnam Fresh Longan for Export

In addition, the reduced supply due to the impact of climate change has caused dragon fruit prices to remain high in the first months of the year.

Recently, Son La province has exported red-fleshed dragon fruit to the Italian and Russian markets. The successful export of red-fleshed dragon fruit through official channels to European markets has contributed to creating stable output, increasing product value, and sustainable development for this crop.

To improve the quality of dragon fruit, create quality dragon fruit, ensure productivity and increase the value of dragon fruit, and meet the demand of the export market, Binh Thuan province has approved the Dragon Fruit Production Program according to VietGAP standards.

By the end of 2024, Binh Thuan strives to have 10,500 hectares of dragon fruit meeting VietGAP standards. Binh Thuan will build cooperatives, linked groups, and cooperatives to produce dragon fruit according to VietGAP standards.

The Provincial Dragon Fruit Association mobilizes enterprises to cooperate with groups and cooperatives to produce VietGAP dragon fruit to have safe dragon fruit material areas for export and product consumption for farmers; guides the registration of geographical indications for Binh Thuan dragon fruit for enterprises, cooperatives, cooperative groups, and groups associated with dragon fruit production according to VietGAP.

Or in Tien Giang, the provincial agricultural sector promotes sustainable development of specialized dragon fruit export areas, develops cooperative economy, links value chains, and speeds up the process of granting growing area codes.

Up to now, Tien Giang province has built a specialized dragon fruit export area of ​​nearly 8,600 hectares concentrated in the province's districts such as Cho Gao, Go Cong Tay, Go Cong Dong, etc.

Regarding fruit exports, each country will strictly check the residue of plant protection products, product quality, product weight, etc. differently. The first thing to pay attention to when exporting agricultural products is market information.

For example, the Australian and American markets have very strict regulations on quality, requirements, and clear legal regulations. Therefore, growers are required to pay attention to care techniques, harvesting techniques, post-harvest handling, preservation, transportation, etc.

To be able to penetrate the markets, export enterprises must orient the market, link with the planning of growing areas, production areas and solutions to ensure market stability, especially the issue of brand building.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the establishment and granting of codes for growing areas and packaging facilities have achieved many positive results, contributing to orienting production according to market demand, enhancing the reputation of Vietnamese agricultural products.

To date, the Ministry has issued 7,558 growing area codes in 56 provinces and 1,558 packaging facility codes that are allowed to export to markets such as China, the US, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan, the EU, etc.

According to Mr. Nguyen Nhu Cuong, Director of the Department of Crop Production, the industry closely monitors fruit trees, especially key fruit trees such as dragon fruit, longan, durian, mango, rambutan in the Mekong Delta to have appropriate crop distribution instructions, increasing the rate of certified products (safety, GAP).

At the same time, review the construction and development of production areas for key export products with favorable markets, especially large markets; build concentrated production areas, invest in developing product lines according to the value chain, linked to processing and markets./.