As a potential export fruit with billions of dollars, why do coconut businesses and growers still complain about difficulties?

Vietnamese coconuts are full of opportunities to increase their position and soon join the billion-dollar export club. However, many businesses and coconut growers in the provinces are still facing difficulties and are looking forward to the government's early support and solutions.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, Director of the Department of Science, Technology and Environment (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), in 2024, the export value of coconuts will reach 900 million USD. This is a record. Photo: NNVN

Coconut export value hits new record

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Forum “Connecting production and consumption of coconut products” on the morning of December 13, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, Director of the Department of Science, Technology and Environment (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) said that coconut is one of the six key industrial crops according to the Project on developing key industrial crops by 2030 (including the following crops: coffee, rubber, tea, cashew, pepper, coconut).

Currently, Vietnamese coconuts are becoming a high-value export commodity. Coconut products have great potential to increase the value of coconut trees and increase people's income. According to statistics, 30% of coconut acreage has been recognized as meeting VietGAP standards, 30% has been granted a growing area code. In 2024, the export value of coconuts will reach 900 million USD. This is a record.

According to Ms. Thuy, the goal by 2030 is to strive for a nationwide coconut acreage of over 200,000 hectares. The key coconut growing areas are the Mekong Delta (175,000 hectares) and the South Central Coast. To achieve this goal, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has recently paid great attention to developing coconut production and processing.

Recently, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has worked and signed a trade agreement, opening the official coconut export market. In addition, investing in developing research on varieties and cultivation processes such as collaborating with Tra Vinh University to research coconut hybridization to facilitate the development of the coconut industry.

In addition, many businesses and corporations have also invested heavily in coconut trees, developed cultivation processes and processing technology to improve the quality and brand of Vietnamese coconuts and gradually turned areas with strengths in coconut growing into eco-tourism areas to increase added value.

Mr. Huynh Quang Duc, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Ben Tre, said that the province is known as the "coconut capital" of the country with a planting area of over 80,000 hectares, accounting for 88% of the coconut area in the Mekong Delta and nearly 42% of the coconut area nationwide. Coconut trees are identified as the main crop and source of income for more than 200,000 rural households in the province.

Ben Tre green coconut products have been granted a certificate of trademark protection and a national certificate of geographical indication. To date, Ben Tre province has 133 coconut growing areas with 133 codes with an area of over 8,300 hectares. The province has 14 enterprises granted codes for packaging facilities exporting fresh coconuts to the Chinese market. Each year, coconut exports bring in more than 350 million USD to Ben Tre province.

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Ben Tre has coordinated with local departments, organizations and authorities to build an organic coconut material area of over 20,700 hectares. Forming a value chain closely linked with 8 large enterprises, with modern processing technology, processing and exporting organic coconut products to many markets such as: USA, EU, Japan, China, Canada, Korea...

According to Mr. Duc, in order to grow organic coconuts and effectively manage the issuance of growing area codes, Ben Tre has resolutely included coconut development in the Resolutions of the Provincial Party Committee and the plans of the Provincial People's Committee. In addition, the construction of a production chain is the foundation for developing coconut trees. Because only when the chain is strong can the participation of the political system, businesses, and farmers be mobilized.

In addition, promote the transfer of technical processes. Strengthen training to improve capacity on regulations as well as related technical solutions to ensure proper implementation of the regulations of the importing country for local people and businesses when registering to build growing area codes and packaging facility codes.

Deploy instructions for growing areas and packaging facilities to fully update information on the national database of growing areas and export packaging facilities, and instruct people and businesses to use the "Field Diary" software and the "Packaging Facility Management" software to fully update information according to the requirements of the importing country.

Mekong Fruit Import-Export Company Limited (Ben Tre) purchases raw coconuts for drinking water in the linked area for export. Photo: Cam Truc

Hope to have support mechanism soon

Although it is considered a product with great export potential and is expected to soon reach the export milestone of 1 billion USD, according to experts and businesses, Vietnam's coconut industry is still facing many difficulties and challenges.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Thanh, President of the Vietnam Coconut Association, affirmed: Vietnam's coconut processing industry is facing a serious risk of raw material shortage. Many businesses have invested in facilities and factories in Ben Tre, but the province's supply is not enough for all activities. Many businesses have had to stop operating or operate at a low capacity of only 10-15%.

In addition, in recent years, the tax rate of dried coconut raw materials is 0%, so many businesses have set up facilities to process dried coconut and then send it to China for deep processing. In addition, from January 1, 2025, Indonesia, the leading dried coconut export market, has applied an 80% coconut export tax to protect domestic raw materials and attract investment. Thus, dried coconut raw materials for export to Vietnamese businesses are being seriously threatened.

"If we do not soon have a tax policy and create tariff barriers to retain coconut raw materials for the domestic processing industry, our coconut industry will certainly decline," Ms. Thanh commented.

What is more alarming is that the situation of buying and selling growing area codes (MSVT) and packaging facilities (CSĐG) in the coconut and agricultural products industry is seriously affecting the reputation and competitiveness of Vietnam in the international market. Mr. Nguyen Phong Phu, Technical Director of Vina T&T Group, said: "This is a prominent issue that needs to be thoroughly resolved, thereby ensuring the sustainable development of the coconut export industry."

According to Mr. Phu, many organizations, after being granted MSVT, have violated regulations by reselling or leasing, falsifying information about product origin. Some growing areas even do not maintain production according to registered standards, leading to violations of plant quarantine and food safety. This situation not only affects export quality but also causes importing countries, especially China, to increase control or suspend imports from Vietnam. This causes great damage to farmers and legitimate businesses.

"This fraud is threatening national prestige, reducing the trust of international partners and hindering market expansion. To overcome this, it is necessary to build a digital system to strictly manage MSVT and CSĐG from production to export. At the same time, authorities need to strictly handle fraudulent behavior and increase training and raise awareness among farmers and businesses about the responsibility to protect national brands.

Only when monitoring and management measures are implemented synchronously, can the coconut export industry effectively exploit the potential in large markets such as China, ensuring a competitive position and sustainable development in the future," said Mr. Phu.

An organic coconut growing area in Giong Trom district (Ben Tre). Photo: Nguyen Vy

To solve the difficulties for Vietnam's coconut industry, Mr. Nguyen The Phuong, Deputy Director of Global Connection Food Company, proposed to develop policies based on the characteristics of coconuts (fresh or dried) and each supply stage to optimize the purchasing and consumption capacity of enterprises. For example, during times of low supply, policies should aim to maximize collection and use on the spot. During times of abundant supply such as June and July, exports should be promoted.

Harmony is an indispensable factor in this chain. Farmers need to clearly understand their benefits and roles to participate effectively. The leader of Global Connected Food Company gave an example from the durian industry, where each farmer plays the role of a trader, ensuring transparent and equal transactions. The mechanism of sharing information from direct sources, from China or the US... helps farmers not to suffer losses when participating in the export supply chain and businesses to stabilize and purchase at reasonable prices, creating trust between the parties.

"To build effective specific support policies, there needs to be synchronous participation of relevant parties," Mr. Phuong affirmed.

Source: https://danviet.vn/la-trai-cay-xuat-khau-tiem-nang-thu-ty-usd-vi-sao-doanh-nghiep-nguoi-trong-dua-van-keu-kho-20241213121544774.htm