Vietnamese bananas are in high demand in the world market.

Fastidious markets such as Korea, Japan, and Dubai are increasingly favoring Vietnamese banana products.

Mr. Vo Quang Thuan, representative of Huy Long An Company Limited, said that Vietnamese bananas are quite competitive in foreign markets. Previously, this product was only exported to China, but now it is also favored by demanding countries. Specifically, after 6 months of negotiations with Japanese enterprises, directly taking customers to visit the production process and testing the products, in mid-2016, the company's banana shipment was exported to Japan at a good price.

“Every day, the company exports 2-3 containers (16-20 tons per container) of fresh bananas to Japan by sea. All of these goods are sold at 6 Japanese supermarkets such as Don Quijote, Daiei, Aeon…”, Mr. Thuan said.

Like South American bananas, Laba is a high quality product with beautiful appearance. Illustrative photo.

According to Mr. Thuan, all exported bananas are grown by the company on an area of ​​200 hectares in Long An and Tay Ninh with a strict process. When the banana flowers bloom about 10 bunches, workers must pick the flowers to prevent fruit from growing. Each banana has the excess flower at the tip cut off so that the fruit is beautiful and even. After harvesting, the bananas are cleaned of dust, disinfected, dried, and lined with thin foam between the two layers of the same bunch to prevent bruising. They are put into nylon bags, vacuumed, and placed in boxes to be put in cold storage, before being shipped to the port in containers abroad. In 2017, the company aims to export about 10,000 tons of bananas a year.

Also stating that they have reached an agreement since 2016, a representative of a banana production facility in Long An said that the company's bananas are also being exported to Japan and Dubai. Domestically, they are sold at Big C and Satra. To be able to export to these difficult markets, the company's bananas are grown by region and strictly controlled, with stamps and labels on the products for distributors to trace their origin. In the near future, the company will expand its growing areas to meet domestic and foreign demand," said a representative of this facility.

Mr. Le Si Cong, Director of La Ba Da Lat Company (Lam Dong) said that bananas are a product that attracts customers not only domestically but also internationally, however, the supply is not enough to supply. In the first months of the year, his company's laba bananas were only enough to supply the domestic market. Although the Japanese market is in great need, there are no products to sell.

“We are also planning to provide seeds and cooperate with farmers to grow an additional 100 hectares to supply the domestic market and export. In particular, Japan is one of the potential markets and favors Laba bananas. This type has good quality, long cultivation time, so the price is always higher than other types of bananas and is easy to export to the Japanese market,” said Mr. Cong.

In addition to the above enterprises, many enterprises have conducted research and sought to cooperate with farmers, providing technical support and seedlings to produce bananas for the market. Most recently, a company specializing in macadamia cultivation based in Ho Chi Minh City is looking for land for cultivation and production in a closed chain. However, according to the leader of this enterprise, having a large land fund is not easy, in addition, to produce standard and clean products requires a lot of costs.

According to export enterprises, the demand for imported bananas in Japan, Dubai, South Korea and the Middle East markets is quite potential. Therefore, the output of exported Vietnamese bananas is expanding, especially with high-quality products.

According to the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, in 2016, the export turnover of fruits and vegetables reached about 2.5 billion USD, an increase of over 30% compared to the same period last year. This year, the export turnover is forecast to continue to grow strongly as there were many export orders at the beginning of the year. According to the General Statistics Office, in January, fruit and vegetable exports reached 230 million USD, an increase of 14% compared to the same period. It is forecasted that fruit and vegetable exports this year will bring Vietnam more than 3 billion USD.

According to VNE