Vietnam to witness bright prospects for fruit, vegetable exports

The export value of vegetables and fruits reached $1.39 billion, up 19.4% over the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. China led the consumption of Vietnamese fruits and vegetables with 58.7% market share, valued at $576.4 million in the first quarter of the year, up 27.4% over the same period in 2022.

Laos, South Korea and Japan also increased imports of Vietnamese fruits. Exports of Vietnamese vegetables and fruits to Laos increased the most, by 2.8 times.

Earlier, according to the Centre for Digital Transformation and Statistics under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam exported nearly 1 billion USD worth of fruits and vegetables in Q1, rising 7% from a year earlier.

Dang Phuc Nguyen, Secretary General of the Vietnam Fruit Association (Vinafruit), said thanks to high demand in China, which reopened in Q1 after the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses have promoted exports to this neighbouring market. Prices of such fruits as durian and dragon fruit have also soared.

Giving further details, he said that since Vietnamese durian was licenced to be exported via the official channel to China last year, this market has continually placed durian import orders. However, the first three months of the year was not the peak harvest time so the export volume of this fruit remained small.

When the harvest season begins in April, supplies will become abundant and businesses can better meet importers’ demand. Aside from durian, jackfruit, banana, and dragon fruit are also among staple exports to China, which will help increase fruit and vegetable shipments to this 1.4-billion-people market to at least 2.5 billion USD this year, according to Nguyen.