Opportunities abound for Vietnamese fruit exports.

With international integration and the removal of many technical barriers, Vietnamese fruits are increasingly being exported. However, for sustainable exports, Vietnamese fruits need to make greater efforts to improve quality and meet stringent food safety and hygiene requirements.

Many fruits penetrate demanding markets.

According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in the first nine months of 2016 alone, Vietnam's fruit exports reached nearly US$1.8 billion, a 31% increase compared to the same period in 2015. This value is almost equal to the export value of the entire year of 2015 and, for the first time, has surpassed rice exports.

"Khau Cay Noi rice, a specialty of the border region of Nghe An province."

Currently, fruit exports have achieved the highest growth rate among agricultural, forestry, and fishery products and rank third in value among the nine agricultural, forestry, and fishery products. Among Vietnam's 29 exported fruit varieties, dragon fruit tops the list with an export value exceeding $700 million, equivalent to nearly 50% of the total export value. Longan, watermelon, and other fruits also show impressive growth.

"In the last months of the year, the fruit industry has continuously received many positive signals, with mangosteen being licensed for export to the US market, and lychees from Bac Giang being exported to Australia... In the future, other specialty fruits such as dragon fruit, rambutan, longan, lychee, and mangosteen will soon increase in volume after being approved by potential markets such as the US, Japan, and South Korea," said Mr. Hoang Trung, Director of the Plant Protection Department.

Currently, domestic fruits have met the stringent import requirements of many countries. To date, four types of fruit – dragon fruit, rambutan, longan, and lychee – have been exported to the US, and relevant authorities are negotiating to export mangoes and star apples to this market. In the Australian market, lychees have successfully penetrated, and mangoes and dragon fruit are expected to follow in the near future. In Japan, after arduous negotiations and the successful development of pest control procedures, mangoes and dragon fruit have reached consumers.

Developing a key fruit industry.

According to Mr. Hoang Trung, after a period of development, the area of ​​fruit trees in Vietnam has reached over 786,000 hectares, with the Mekong Delta being the largest fruit-producing region, accounting for nearly 40% of the total fruit tree area nationwide. Thanks to the impact of scientific and technological advancements, crop variety transformation, specialized production, and improved farming techniques among orchard owners, the productivity and output of fruit trees have also grown strongly.

Illustration.

However, domestic fruit production is facing many issues affecting sustainable development, as it remains largely small-scale and fragmented, making it difficult to guarantee both the quantity and quality of the supply. Meanwhile, fruit export businesses are weak and lack experience in trade and management.

"We need to implement fundamental measures such as sterilization by irradiation, heat treatment, planting and caring for crops according to international standards such as Global GAP, as well as gradually planning the synchronous raw material areas for each market and each export contract, ensuring the geographical origin of the orchards according to regulations. In addition, to create more opportunities for fruit, the agricultural sector has set a goal of building a key fruit industry concentrated in the South, developing towards large-scale commodity production based on leveraging comparative advantages, and at least 50% of products must meet GAP quality standards to meet export requirements," Mr. Hoang Trung added.

According to economic experts, although fruit exports have been continuously increasing, most are consumed as fresh, ripe fruit after harvest. The proportion of processed, dried, canned, and juiced fruits is negligible. To maintain and expand the market, it is necessary to re-plan the fruit production areas for export and build a quality framework to ensure criteria are met. Currently, the agricultural sector has focused on developing 12 key fruit varieties: dragon fruit, mango, rambutan, durian, star apple, pomelo, longan, banana, pineapple, orange, custard apple, and tangerine. However, to fully realize the export potential of fruit, the State needs to create better conditions for businesses to cooperate with production groups with appropriate mechanisms to bring the highest benefits to producers.

According to Le Nghia/baotintuc