Many positive signals from fruit and vegetable exports to the US

Up to now, Vietnam has officially been licensed to export 6 types of fresh fruit to the US including mango, longan, litchi, dragon fruit, rambutan and star apple. In which, Ke Sach breast milk (Soc Trang) is exported to the US and Singapore markets with an increasing number. According to Mr. Vu Ba Quan – Head of Agriculture and Rural Development Department (Agriculture and Rural Development) in Ke Sach district, in the first crop year, there were 2 businesses associated with consumption with more than 31 tons, however, in the 2020-2021 crop year, despite meeting many difficulties, many difficulties due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic, but the consumption volume reached nearly 162 tons. It is expected that in the 2021 – 2022 crop year, the cooperatives will cooperate with 6 businesses to bring Ke Sach purple milkweed to the US market with an expected output double that of the previous year.

The good news for Vietnamese fruit when recently, Mr. Tran Thanh Nam – Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development – said that Vietnamese pomelos will officially enter the US market, after that, coconuts will also be considered by this country. for import. Meanwhile, other fruits can be exported either frozen or processed (canned, dried).

Statistics from the Department of Crop Production show that the country has 105,400ha of pomelos, with an output of nearly 950,000 tons. From now until the end of the first quarter of 2022, the whole country will harvest about 140,000 tons of pomelos. The official export of pomelos to the US market will increase the export turnover of fruits in general and pomelos in particular in this market. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development recommends that enterprises with needs and abilities quickly coordinate with Vietnamese plant quarantine units to complete documents to soon export pomelos to the United States.

Potential market of Vietnamese fruit

Vietnam is trying to diversify export markets for fruit and vegetables. The chart of the structure of vegetables and fruits exported to continents in 2021 shows a clear shift. While the share of fruit and vegetable exports to Europe and America increased, the share of exports to Asia decreased. In 2021, the export value of vegetables and fruits to the European and American markets will have high growth rates, of which exports to Europe will reach 303 million USD, up 17.4% compared to 2020; to the Americas reached 271 million USD, up 29.1% compared to 2020.

The United States is a potential market for Vietnamese fruit with 332 million customers with high per capita income and the culinary trend is increasingly focusing on vegetable and fruit ingredients. According to the Import-Export Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), the distribution system in the US is diversified, multi-channel and modern, opening up many consumption opportunities. The diversity and openness in American culture always makes consumers want to experience new products, opening up opportunities for specialty vegetables from the tropics of Vietnam. On the other hand, the proportion of US fruit and vegetable imports from Vietnam is still low, which is an opportunity for Vietnamese enterprises to expand their market share in this market in the near future.

Besides the above advantages, the export of fruit, especially fresh fruit, to the US also faces difficulties. First of all, Vietnamese products must compete with products of the same type that are grown more and more in states such as Florida, California, or in Mexico and South American countries with natural conditions similar to Vietnam, as well as products from other Asian countries and substitutes grown in the United States.

In addition, due to geographical distance, high transportation and storage costs, Vietnamese fruit and vegetable products have not yet been able to reach much of this market. Fresh fruit with a short crop also requires the stages in the distribution chain to be very smooth and efficient to increase the export efficiency of our country’s fresh fruits.

In order to increase the export of vegetables and fruits to the US market, the Vietnam Trade Office in the US recommends that domestic enterprises should coordinate with importers and distributors in the US to study flexible payment methods. , supporting risk sharing, especially in the early stage of market access. Besides, consider linking and investing in cold storage to set up a distribution center for Vietnamese goods at a large import port in the West Coast, which can later be opened in the East or the South, on a large enough scale. serve a wide range of products. This will help reduce costs and create an initiative for businesses to bring products to the market. At the same time, exporters actively update, regularly provide information, actively open and create market opportunities.

Affected by the Covid-19 epidemic, in 2021, the structure of Vietnam’s export fruit and vegetable products has changed, specifically while the proportion of fruit and nut products has decreased in export proportion, the category of fruit and vegetable exports has decreased. processed products increased. The export value of processed fruit and vegetable products in 2021 accounts for 25.3% of the total export value of vegetables and fruits, an increase of 1.5 percentage points compared to 2020.

Despite the positive shift, compared with the requirements of development and integration, Vietnam’s processed fruit and vegetable industry is still facing many shortcomings and limitations that need to be overcome in the near future. In addition to exporting fresh fruits, many people believe that investing in processing will help the fruit and vegetable industry increase export value. Therefore, it is necessary to invest in technology for processing, post-harvest preservation and logistics development for transporting fruits and vegetables.

The Covid-19 epidemic is not expected to negatively affect the global processed vegetable, fruit and vegetable production industry. In contrast, the supply of processed fruits and vegetables increased as exports of fresh or frozen products decreased, forcing producers to shift to processing. Meanwhile, price, shelf life and innovation are the main drivers driving the increase in consumption of processed fruits and vegetables in the near term.

According to calculations from statistics of the General Department of Customs, the export of fruit and vegetable products in the fourth quarter of 2021 reached $800.2 million, up 10.5% compared to the third quarter of 2021, up 3% compared to the fourth quarter. 2020. In general, in 2021, the export of vegetables and fruits will reach 3.55 billion USD, up 8.6% compared to 2020.

Source: Industry and Trade Newspaper