Finding new directions for coconut, pineapple, banana... to enter the 'billion-dollar export' group

Seminar to find ways to develop many types of fruit.

On July 18, in Ho Chi Minh City, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment held a seminar to promote the advantages of coconut, banana, pineapple... crops with the goal of soon bringing these fruits into the billion-dollar export club. Previously, durian and dragon fruit were fruits that for many years brought in export value exceeding 1 billion USD.

According to the representative of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, durian and dragon fruit, the two products that once led the Vietnamese fruit export industry, are now showing signs of slowing down. While durian can maintain its short-term growth rate, the risk of the Chinese market is becoming increasingly apparent with strict quality control policies. Dragon fruit, which once reached the milestone of over 1 billion USD, has now lost more than half of its export value compared to its peak. Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment is oriented to promote the production of other types of fruit so that farmers have more choices, diversify markets, and improve competitiveness.

Specifically, coconut is the fruit with the largest area in the country with about 202,000 hectares, output reaching 2.28 million tons per year, mostly concentrated in the Mekong Delta. Vietnam is currently among the world's leading coconut exporting countries. By 2030, the coconut industry will focus on shifting to deep processing, production according to VietGAP and GlobalGAP processes, developing intercropping and intercropping models and integrating with garden ecotourism, OCOP products to increase the value of the entire chain.

With pineapple, Vietnam currently has an output of about 860,000 tons, mainly grown in the Mekong Delta. The target by 2030 is to reach nearly 1 million tons, through expanding the area and converting to inter-cropping to serve processing and off-season export. Meanwhile, bananas currently have an output of about 3 million tons per year and are a key export item to markets such as China, Japan, Korea and the EU. The industry's direction is to maintain and expand market share by improving product quality, improving packaging designs and building a separate brand for Vietnamese bananas in the international market. Meanwhile, with passion fruit, Vietnam currently has an output of about 163,000 tons per year, mainly concentrated in the Central Highlands. The target by 2030 is to increase to 300,000 tons, in which the key development areas are Lam Dong and Gia Lai.

Banana is a popular crop in the southern provinces, with many advantages reaching billion-dollar export value.

With the current scale, the above fruits can all join the "billion-dollar export" group in the next few years if they are oriented and developed on the right roadmap. Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen, General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association (VINAFRUIT), said that many Vietnamese fruits and vegetables can become billion-dollar industries. Of which, pineapple has a global market size of about 29 billion USD in 2024 and continues to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6.3%. The European and North American markets account for 50% of consumption demand, showing great export potential.

Meanwhile, Mr. Pham Quoc Liem, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Unifarm Company, has high hopes for bananas. Because 10 years ago, Vietnam did not have any banana export products, but in 2024, bananas brought in 378 million USD, ranking 9th in the world. However, if investing in science, engineering, and technology to increase the value per hectare to 20,000 USD, Vietnam can earn up to 4 billion USD/year from bananas.

Similarly, with passion fruit products, Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Nafoods Joint Stock Company, believes that he can reach the billion-dollar export milestone. Passion fruit is strongly welcomed by the world in both concentrated and fresh form with a demand of about 30,000 tons/year for each type. This market has a growth rate of 6-7%, especially the Chinese market, if opened, will create a huge demand for fresh fruit. China can currently grow it, but in the winter it still has to import.

Meanwhile, fresh coconut exports will reach a value of nearly 400 million USD in 2024, but if coconut products are included, this fruit will reach the billion-dollar threshold.

At the end of the discussion, Mr. Tran Thanh Nam, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment, acknowledged: Passion fruit, banana, pineapple and coconut are typical representatives, converging many factors of natural advantages, economic value, processing capacity and export market potential. In terms of production scale, the total area of these four crops is up to more than 420,000 hectares, yielding over 6.3 million tons per year. These are not only statistical figures, but also clear evidence of the strong vitality of industries associated with the livelihoods of millions of farming households. All four products have advantages, but these are also facing challenges such as monotonous varieties, lack of good varieties, varieties resistant to important pests and diseases, lack of standard raw material areas, and loose linkages... Therefore, it is necessary to proactively reorganize the industry right now, otherwise we will lose our advantages and fall behind other countries in the same geographical region.

daidoanket.vn

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/tim-huong-moi-de-dua-dua-chuoi-vao-nhom-xuat-khau-ti-do-post649092.html