The Vietnamese fruit and vegetable sector, one of the few to have recorded increased export turnover in the first quarter of 2023, has good prospects of earning $4 billion in export revenue this year.
Export billing increases
Vietnam exported nearly $1 billion worth of fruits and vegetables in the first quarter, up 8% from the previous year, and the Chinese market posted an impressive 23% growth.
Dang Phuc Nguyen, Secretary General of the Vietnam Fruit Association (Vinafruit), attributed the result to the signing of durian, sweet potato and banana export protocols to China through official channels.
The export of grapefruit to the US and passion fruit to New Zealand also fueled the overall growth of the sector.
Durian contributed greatly to the impressive export results in the first months of this year. The export volume of this fruit is expected to reach USD 1 billion, which will help bring the total figure for the sector to USD 4 billion this year, up 20% year-on-year, according to Nguyen.
The application of free trade agreements is also an important engine that has contributed to the sharp increase in fruit and vegetable exports in the first months and contributes to a great extent to boost the sector’s exports throughout the year.
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Good demand for fruit imports in China may help boost total fruit and vegetable exports in the second quarter by 10% or more, said Nguyen, who predicted revenue may reach about $2 billion in the first half. of 2023.
The export of grapefruit to the US and passion fruit to New Zealand also fueled the overall growth of the sector.
Promote exports through official channels
Vinafruit has proposed to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MoIT) and other ministries and agencies, especially the Vietnam Trade Office in China, that they study and negotiate the signing of more protocols for various official export products such as dragon fruit, mango, watermelon, jackfruit and rambutan, along with the opening of markets for other fruits such as green-skinned grapefruit, fresh coconut, avocado, lemon, pineapple and star apple.
In addition to China, there is also a need to step up trade promotion activities in other markets such as the US, China, the ROK and Australia, Nguyen said.
According to Vinafruit’s General Secretary, the biggest difficulty at present is that there are not many planting area codes and packing facilities to meet the requirements of the Chinese market. At present, only 246 planting area codes and nearly 100 packing facility codes have been granted, far less than Thailand’s 20,000 and 2,000 respectively.
With an area of almost 110,000 hectares and a production of around 1 million tons per year, durian exports to China will be bottlenecked if no more planting zone codes are granted this year.
In addition to China, there is also a need to step up trade promotion activities in other markets such as the US, China, the ROK and Australia, Nguyen said.
He also suggested to the MoIT and other ministries and sectors that they resort to investment and advanced technologies for processors to improve the value of exports and establish themselves in markets as demanding as the US and the EU.
Overseas Vietnam trade offices were advised to regularly organize Vietnamese fruit festivals to introduce the people of their host countries and international visitors.
Last year, Vietnam earned almost 3.4 billion dollars from fruit and vegetable exports.
Article republished from the Vietnamese state media VNA in the framework of an agreement between both parties to share content. Link to the original article:https://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnam-s-vegetable-fruit-exports-likely-to-hit-4-billion-usd-this-year/252931.vnp
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