Vietnamese Grapefruit is officially available on the shelves of Lotte Mart Korea

Vietnamese grapefruit is officially sold at Lotte Mart supermarket system.

April 10 marked an important milestone for Vietnam’s agricultural export industry when Vietnamese grapefruit was officially sold at Lotte Mart supermarket system. This event not only demonstrated the superior quality of Vietnamese agricultural products but also affirmed the tireless efforts of businesses and agencies of the two countries in promoting bilateral economic cooperation between Vietnam and Korea.

The representative of the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that attending this important event were Mr. Pham Khac Tuyen, First Secretary, in charge of the Vietnam Trade Office in Korea, Mr. Dao Trong Tien, Third Secretary, Vietnam Trade Office in Korea, representatives of Hoang Huy One Member Limited Liability Company - a pioneer in exporting Vietnamese grapefruit to the Korean market and senior leaders from Lotte Mart - one of the leading retail groups in this country.

This is an opportunity for all parties to look back on the journey of bringing Vietnamese grapefruit to Korean consumers, and discuss opportunities to expand the market in the future.

By the end of 2024, South Korea will still be Vietnam's third largest trading partner after China and the United States. Bilateral trade turnover in 2024 will reach about 82 billion USD, up 7.4% over the same period, in which Vietnam's key products exported to the South Korean market will still grow well despite the negative impacts of the world economy, specifically: coffee (141 million USD, up 22%); seafood (810 million, up 2%); especially fresh fruits and vegetables (reaching 319 million USD, up 40%).

South Korea's fresh fruit imports soared to a record $1.45 billion in 2024, marking a 20.1 percent increase from the previous year, according to data from the Korea Rural Economic Institute (KREI).

Experts predict that the trend of fruit imports in Korea will continue to increase sharply. KREI estimates that total fruit imports, including fresh, dried and frozen varieties, will increase by 6.8% to 817,000 tons in 2025, reaching 865,000 tons by 2034, reflecting an average annual growth rate of 0.6%.

Currently, Korea is the 5th largest fruit export market of Vietnam, after China, the US, the EU and Japan. With Vietnam's annual quality fruit products reaching more than 12 million tons (according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment), of which grapefruit has a yield of about 1.2 million tons, the potential for expanding exports to Korea is huge.

Korean consumers increasingly favor nutritious tropical fruits, creating opportunities for Vietnamese grapefruit to compete with products from the US (oranges, apples) and Thailand (durian, rambutan). The average export price of grapefruit to Korea is 2.4 USD/kg, 30% higher than the price in China (1.8 USD/kg), showing the significant added value that the Korean market brings.

According to the Plant Protection Department (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment), since 2018, Vietnam has officially initiated the negotiation process to open the Korean market for grapefruit. However, this process has only really been accelerated after the COVID-19 pandemic. After two years of active exchanges, pest risk analysis and many rounds of technical negotiations, by April 2024, the Plant Protection Department of Vietnam and the Animal and Plant Quarantine Service of Korea reached an agreement on technical import conditions.

From August 2024, Vietnamese grapefruit will be officially allowed to be imported into Korea with the condition that each shipment is inspected before customs clearance. By September 2024, Hoang Huy Company had successfully exported the first batch of grapefruit with an output of 5 tons, opening the strategy of developing this product to become a staple in the Korean market. In 2025, Hoang Huy aims to export 500 tons of grapefruit, with an estimated total value of up to 1.2 million USD (equivalent to about 30 billion VND).

Lotte Mart representatives highly appreciate the potential of Vietnamese grapefruit thanks to its sweet taste, high vitamin C content and suitability to Korean consumers' taste. After the first batch is distributed at Lotte Mart Jamsil branch, the group plans to expand distribution to other branches if it receives positive feedback from the market.

For Vietnamese enterprises, this event is a driving force to promote investment in processing technology, improve product quality, build brands and enhance competitiveness in the international market. The Trade Office and the Vietnamese Embassy in Korea pledged to continue supporting enterprises in accessing market information, connecting with partners, completing export procedures and diversifying products, opening a new promising chapter for the Vietnamese agricultural sector.

According to VNA

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/trai-buoi-viet-nam-chinh-thuc-co-mat-tren-ke-hang-cua-lotte-mart-han-quoc-245208.htm