Reaching the 7.2 billion USD mark is within reach when by early December, Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable exports brought in more than 6.7 billion USD, an increase of about 30% compared to the same period last year.
Fruit and vegetable exports set a new record
It can be seen that this year is the year that the Vietnamese fruit and vegetable industry has reaped many victories, when increasing all 3 aspects: Market, output and export value. However, to be able to maintain that record growth, there are still many issues that require this billion-dollar industry to pay attention and boldly change.
According to data from the General Department of Customs, Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable exports in November are estimated at 500 million USD, down 3.8% compared to the previous month, but still up 34.3% compared to the same period last year. In the first 11 months, Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable export turnover reached a record of about 6.66 billion USD, up 28.2% over the same period last year.
Compared to 10 years ago, Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable export turnover has increased from 1.47 billion USD to nearly 7 billion USD, an increase of nearly 5 times. Experts say that the potential and room to increase the export value of this industry is huge.
Strong growth in the Chinese market has helped Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable exports approach 7 billion USD for the first time. In the past 11 months, fruit and vegetable exports to China reached 4.1 billion USD, up 28.7% over the same period in 2023.
This is the first time that export turnover to the Chinese market has exceeded 4 billion USD – far exceeding the record export turnover achieved in the whole year of 2023 of 3.6 billion USD in the Chinese market alone.
Thanks to the advantage of the season, road, sea and rail connections with China have helped save costs and transportation time, creating great opportunities for Vietnamese businesses to export fruits and vegetables to the country of a billion people.
For example, Kim Thanh International Road Border Gate No. II, Lao Cai (under the management of Lao Cai Border Gate Customs Branch) is one of the leading important fruit and vegetable export areas on the northern border. The most prominent among the fruit and vegetable export groups is durian with a total turnover of 934.8 million USD, an increase of 321% over the same period in 2023, up to the end of November.
According to the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, in the 11 months, fruit and vegetable exports were successful in many markets, with growth reaching over double digits, of which the highest increase was in exports to Thailand, South Korea, Germany and Canada, China and the US.
In addition to durian, the export turnover of many other types of fruit and vegetables also witnessed remarkable growth, including: Coconut (up 60.6%); banana (up 26.8%); mango (up 43.5%); jackfruit (up 21.3%); pistachio (up 40.4%); almond (up 58.2%); watermelon (up 53.7%)…
“The remarkable growth in the output of key fruits, combined with the effective exploitation of the Chinese market, has helped Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable exports achieve remarkable achievements in recent times,” the Import-Export Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade) assessed.
Key exports in the billion-people market
In fact, the signing of Protocols allowing official exports of agricultural products has created momentum for many types of Vietnamese agricultural products in the Chinese market.
To date, Vietnam has officially exported 14 agricultural products to the Chinese market, including: durian, bird’s nest, sweet potato, dragon fruit, longan, rambutan, mango, jackfruit, watermelon, banana, black jelly, mangosteen, lychee and passion fruit.
However, the Trade Promotion Agency (Ministry of Industry and Trade) assessed that the results achieved in the past time are not commensurate with the potential, demand and strengths of each side.
Currently, in addition to the 14 agricultural products going through the official channel, most of the remaining products are exported through the border trade channel (informal trade), while the demand for fruit consumption in the Chinese market is very large and the ability to supply high-quality, specialty fruits of Vietnam is very abundant.
In order for Vietnamese fruits and vegetables to always develop sustainably, state management agencies need to strictly control the quality, harvesting process and pesticide residues before exporting. When durian is exported to China and the EU, it is mandatory to check for pesticide residues. Only when it meets the standards will it be harvested for export.