To make Vietnam the world's "vegetable garden"

In 2014, Vietnam's fruit and vegetable exports reached approximately 1.5 billion USD and are forecast to exceed 2 billion USD in the next 2-3 years. However, in order for Vietnam to become the world's "vegetable garden", it is necessary to urgently invest in science and technology to develop the fruit and vegetable industry faster and stronger...

Current Status

Vegetables: Our country has an area of ​​about 850 thousand hectares for growing vegetables of all kinds, the average yield for all kinds of vegetables nationwide is only about 18 tons/ha; the output of all kinds of vegetables is also estimated at 15 million tons. The area of ​​vegetables is evenly distributed throughout the country. The provinces with the highest productivity are Lam Dong, Dak Lak (Central Highlands), Hai Duong, Thai Binh, Hai Phong (Red River Delta), Tra Vinh, An Giang, Kien Giang (Mekong River Delta), Ho Chi Minh City (Southeast), the average vegetable yield is over 20 tons/ha.

Flowers and ornamental plants: In 2013, the whole country had about 18,700 hectares of flowers and ornamental plants, of which the Northern provinces had 9,500 hectares, the Southern provinces had about 9,200 hectares, the average income from growing flowers and ornamental plants nationwide was 250 million VND/ha/year, many models reached 700-800 million VND/ha/year. The flower and ornamental plant growing areas are mainly concentrated in Hanoi, Hai Phong, Sa Pa (Lao Cai), Moc Chau (Son La), Nam Truc (Nam Dinh), Da Lat (Lam Dong), Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Thap, Tien Giang...

Processing vegetables for export

Fruit trees:

The area increased quite rapidly, from 696.6 thousand hectares in 2001 to 781.4 thousand hectares in 2012, the growth rate from 2001 to 2012 was 2.3%/year. In 2013, the area of ​​fruit trees of all kinds nationwide was over 800 thousand hectares. The Mekong Delta region has the largest area and output in the country, the highest commodity rate with nearly 70% of the output sold on the market; followed by the Northern midland and mountainous region; the Central Highlands. The fruit output in 2012 reached 7.488 million tons, of which the largest was banana 1.796 million tons, mango 776.3 thousand tons, citrus 690.3 thousand tons, lychee, rambutan 649.3 thousand tons, longan 545.3 thousand tons, pineapple 571.6 thousand tons, grapefruit 443.6 thousand tons. Average fruit output per capita reached 84.3 kg/year.

In 2013, fruit and vegetable exports reached over 1.09 billion USD, of which fruits of all kinds reached 0.951 billion USD. In 2014, fruit and vegetable exports grew quite rapidly and reached 1.47 billion USD, an increase of nearly 40% compared to 2013, of which nearly 90% were fruits. However, the fruit and vegetable industry still has many limitations such as: Although the production area has been planned, it is still unclear, the scale of production is small-scale, household-based, unstable varieties, uneven quality, management of quality standards, food hygiene and safety still has too many shortcomings... not creating a breakthrough momentum.

We have issued good agricultural practices (VietGAP) standards, but so far only over 10,000/800,000 hectares of fruit trees are applying and certified with VietGAP and other GAP standards. The weakest link of the Vietnamese vegetable, flower and fruit industry in particular and agricultural products in general is still post-harvest processing and preservation.

Refined processing, producing products with high added value, can be counted on the fingers, the products are mainly exported fresh, raw, while preservation, packaging, and post-harvest processing technology are still rudimentary and backward. Due to poor post-harvest and preservation technology, we have not been able to create international brands for products that only Vietnam has an advantage in.

To be the world's "vegetable and fruit garden"

Potential: As a country stretching from 8o27' north latitude to 23o23' north latitude (15 degrees long); due to ecological diversity, our country's fruit tree species are very rich, with over 30 different fruit trees, belonging to 3 groups: tropical fruit trees (bananas, pineapples, mangoes, etc.), subtropical fruit trees (oranges, tangerines, lychees, longans, etc.) and temperate fruit trees (plums, pears, etc.), of which there are 11 advantageous fruit trees. One of the largest and most developed fruit tree groups is longans, lychees, and rambutans. The area of ​​these trees accounts for 26% of the total fruit tree area. Next is bananas, accounting for about 19%.

According to the national fruit tree development plan and planning submitted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to the Government for approval, the fruit tree area by 2010 will reach 1 million hectares, with a vision of about 1.3 million hectares by 2020. It will be mainly located in the Northern midlands and mountainous areas, the Mekong Delta, the Southeast, the Red River Delta and some other regions with sufficient conditions. Thus, according to the plan, in terms of fruit tree area, we are not reaching the planned area according to the roadmap, meaning there is still a lot of land to "use" for this industry. Regarding the market: Vietnamese fruits are present in more than 50 countries in the world and most continents, especially when the FTA and TPP agreements are signed, the opportunities for Vietnamese fruits and vegetables are huge.

The export value of fruits and vegetables quickly surpassed the 1 billion USD mark in 2013 and reached approximately 1.5 billion USD in 2014...

Vietnam can grow vegetables in many regions and many crops a year. Developing vegetables and fruits to make Vietnam a "vegetable garden" of the world and a "kitchen" of the world is very feasible. We have a full range of vegetables, from tropical to temperate. Highlands such as Da Lat, Moc Chau, Sa Pa, and the Northwest mountains have ideal conditions for growing temperate vegetables and flowers. The North with the winter crop is very favorable for growing sub-temperate vegetables with a full range of vegetables and fruits, low cost, few pests and diseases, and consuming few resources. Developing vegetables and flowers will be an opportunity and condition for us to accelerate a high-tech agriculture.

Growing high-tech vegetables in Vietnam certainly means that the energy costs for drying, for the net house system, and greenhouses will be much lower than in other countries: Vegetables, flowers, and fruits can help Vietnamese agriculture rise to a new position, with the formation of high-tech agricultural "enterprises" with an area of ​​tens, even hundreds of hectares and an income value of billions of VND/ha. The obvious evidence is that the export value of vegetables and fruits quickly surpassed the 1 billion USD mark in 2013 and in 2014 reached approximately 1.5 billion USD. It is completely reasonable to predict that the export value of vegetables and fruits of Vietnam will reach more than 2 billion USD in the next 2-3 years, when we open the door to demanding markets such as the EU, the US, Japan, Korea, and a very promising market for Vietnamese vegetables and fruits is Russia. Short-term and long-term solutions: Review and adjust planning, especially with 11 key fruit trees and identified advantages to ensure balance with consumption capacity, avoid spontaneous expansion and uncontrolled hot development.

Planning safe vegetable, flower and ornamental plant areas associated with the development and application of high technology. Promoting the conversion of difficult-to-irrigate rice land to grow key fruit trees with markets, or converting to grow vegetables and fruits for processing. Evaluating varieties, seed quality and parent trees, managing seedlings and valuable genetic resources well to select and breed good varieties for production, especially renovating mixed gardens, replacing old varieties with declining productivity. Organizing production and linking production in chains, associated with ensuring food safety, producing according to GAP standards, moving towards building brands and trademarks for key Vietnamese vegetable and fruit products.

Implement well the commitments with ASEAN, WTO, and the Agreements on plant protection and quarantine for agricultural product importing countries. Promote trade promotion, maintain large, traditional markets and expand markets in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Korea, Russia, India, etc. Develop and expand the domestic market, especially tourist areas, urban areas, and large residential areas. Promote and call for domestic investment and joint ventures, associate with foreign enterprises to build high-tech zones for production, processing, and preservation, especially the preservation of fresh vegetables and fruits, and invest in infrastructure for specialized areas and raw material areas. Promote land consolidation and plot exchange, create favorable conditions for land accumulation, expand production scale, and encourage farmers to contribute land value to participate in shares in production and consumption enterprises. Specify and prioritize the integration of funding sources to implement issued policies: Decision No. 01/2012/QD-TTg on applying GAP in production; Decision No. 62/2013/QD-TTg on production linkage, building large fields; Decree 210/2013/ND-CP on supporting enterprises to invest in agriculture, rural areas...; Decision No. 68/2013/QD-TTg on mechanization, reducing post-harvest losses...

According to NNVN