With a surge in orders, fruit and vegetable exports are expected to reach $5 billion in 2023.

Durian exports boosted fruit and vegetable exports in the first six months of 2023 to nearly equal the entire year of 2022. Finding effective solutions to stimulate demand and expand markets for seasonal fruits.

Huge order volume

Busy preparing for export orders, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tung - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vina T&T Group , said: Currently, China is stepping up its purchase of many types of Vietnamese fruits, especially durian. These days, businesses are regularly packing goods for export to China. This year, the company has secured a contract to export 1,500 containers (15 tons per container) of durian to a Chinese partner. To date, the company has fulfilled about 30% of the order.

"Durian is harvested in batches, so if it ripens in abundance, more will be exported, and vice versa. However, at this time, we don't have enough supply to fulfill orders from our partners," said Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tung.

Besides China, fruit and vegetable exports to other markets such as the US, Australia, and the EU all recorded increases of 5-10% compared to the same period last year.

Similarly, Ameii Vietnam Joint Stock Company is also busy preparing lychee export orders to Japan, Germany, the UK, the Middle East, etc. Mr. Nguyen Khac Tien, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ameii Vietnam Joint Stock Company, said that in the Japanese market, this year, the company expects to export about 30-50% more lychees compared to the same period last year. In addition, durian exports to Japan are also showing good growth.

Bội thu đơn hàng, xuất khẩu rau quả sẽ cán mốc 5 tỷ USD trong năm 2023

Durian is considered a driving force behind the growth of the fruit and vegetable industry in the first six months of 2023.

Besides exporting lychees to traditional markets, many businesses have recently opened up new markets such as the UK and the US. Vietnamese lychees, including seedless lychees, are now sold on supermarket shelves in the UK for 400,000-800,000 VND/kg.

Meanwhile, shipments of fresh lychees from Vietnam were also simultaneously launched for sale at many of the largest Asian supermarkets and markets in June 2023, such as Hong Kong, Tan Binh, Viet Hoa, Linda's Tropical Fruits, Ca Mau, etc.

Vietnam's fruit and vegetable exports showed significant improvement in the first half of 2023. According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development , the value reached nearly US$2.8 billion in the first six months, a sharp increase of 64% compared to the same period last year.

In June 2023 alone, fruit and vegetable exports are estimated to have brought in nearly $950 million, a 2.6-fold increase compared to June 2022. The June export figures far surpassed the record of nearly $560 million set in May. Among the product categories, durian showed the strongest growth, followed by dragon fruit, bananas, mangoes, jackfruit, etc. Watermelons and lychees also performed well.

In terms of market structure, China remains the number one import market. In the first half of the year, the Chinese market accounted for nearly 59% of the market share, followed by the US, then South Korea, Japan, the Netherlands, Thailand, Taiwan, and others.

It will reach the $5 billion mark.

According to Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen, General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, in the first six months of 2023, fruit and vegetable exports became a bright spot for the agricultural sector, with most export items showing good growth trends. In particular, durian exports to China experienced a surge in orders.

"If we are granted additional planting area and packaging facility codes, and the durian export quota to China reaches around 400-500 thousand tons, then this year this fruit could bring in about 1.5 billion USD," Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen shared.

Regarding dragon fruit, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Trinh - Chairman of the Long An Dragon Fruit Association - observed that dragon fruit exports are much more favorable than in previous years thanks to strong demand from China. The reason is that China's dragon fruit production is declining due to drought, so they are importing more to meet domestic consumption needs.

“Dragon fruit has the potential to regain its status as a billion-dollar fruit. From the end of last year until now, the selling price of dragon fruit has consistently been higher than the production cost, resulting in profits for farmers. With an average selling price of 20,000 VND/kg, farmers earn a profit of approximately 400 million VND/hectare/year,” Mr. Nguyen Quoc Trinh informed.

Furthermore, banana exports, which only reached $311 million last year, are showing a strong upward trend this year, particularly in markets like China, Japan, and South Korea. Therefore, banana exports are projected to generate approximately $700-800 million.

Assessing the export potential for the second half of 2023 and the following years, Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen - General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association - commented that many types of Vietnamese fruits are currently entering their harvest season and have a staggered harvesting pattern, so this year's fruit and vegetable exports are considered to have significant potential.

According to statistics, in the second quarter of 2023, the country's fruit production was estimated at over 2.6 million tons. This included approximately 460,000 tons of bananas, 350,000 tons of mangoes, 300,000 tons of durian, 250,000 tons of dragon fruit, 330,000 tons of lychees, 217,000 tons of pineapples, 110,000 tons of longan, and 180,000 tons of oranges. It is projected that in the third and fourth quarters of 2023, nearly 7.6 million tons of major fruits such as mangoes, bananas, dragon fruit, pineapples, oranges, lychees, longan, durian, jackfruit, and avocados will be consumed. Thus, it can be seen that the fruit supply is and will be abundant, adequately meeting export orders in the coming period.

“Fruit and vegetable exports reached nearly $3 billion in the first six months of 2023 alone. Meanwhile, we still have a huge durian reserve in the Central Highlands, with fruit set to ripen in another month, and the harvest season extending until the end of the year. Therefore, with this growth momentum, it is predicted that by the second half of 2023, Vietnam's fruit and vegetable export turnover will reach $5 billion. This figure is almost within reach,” Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen affirmed.

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