Thai fruits and vegetables surpass China to lead the Vietnamese market

Despite having much higher prices than domestic products, Thai fruit still surpasses Chinese products in flooding into Vietnam.

According to the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, in the first three months of the year, Vietnam's fruit and vegetable import turnover reached 156.8 million USD, an increase of 42.5% over the same period last year. Notably, fruits and vegetables from Thailand surpassed China to lead the market share in Vietnam.

Specifically, in the first 3 months of the year, fruit and vegetable imports from Thailand reached nearly 60 million USD, an increase of 125% compared to the same period in 2015. In the top 10 markets supplying fruit and vegetables to the Vietnamese market, Thailand, which accounted for 24.13% of the market share in 2015, has now surpassed China and accounted for 38.18% of the market share. Meanwhile, China, which accounted for 27.7% of the market share in 2015, has decreased to 24.98% in 2016.

A survey at Ho Chi Minh City markets shows that Thai fruit imported into Vietnam has increased. Previously, there were only a few typical products such as tamarind and longan, but now mango, tangerine, sapodilla, durian and even Thai green apples are available in many markets and stores.

The prices of these products are also much higher than those of Vietnamese products. Specifically, Thai mangoes are sold at a wholesale price of VND36,000 per kilogram, VND10,000-15,000 per kilogram higher than Vietnamese products. Thai tamarinds are sold at a wholesale price of VND80,000 per kilogram and at a retail price of VND100,000. Grade 1 Thai longan costs up to VND200,000 per kilogram, nearly three times higher than domestic products. Thai tangerines, rambutans, longans, and apples cost between VND30,000-60,000 per kilogram. Jackfruit imported from Thailand costs VND120,000 per kilogram, while Thai jackfruit in Vietnam costs only VND40,000-50,000 per kilogram (shelled).

Thai longan and mangosteen are popular with Vietnamese consumers. Photo: Hong Chau.

Ms. Hoa, a trader at Tan Dinh market (District 1) said that consumers at this market are very fond of Thai fruit and vegetable products, so traders here proactively import them. However, bonbon, apple, and longan are not in season for another month, so the imported output is not much. As for Thai tamarind, it is in season at the end of 2015 and the beginning of 2016, so the daily consumption at her store is up to a hundred kilograms, with prices ranging from 100,000 to 120,000 VND per kilogram.

Also fond of selling Thai products, Ms. Hanh, a vendor at Ba Chieu Market (Binh Thanh District) said that Vietnamese rambutan is not in season yet, so Thai rambutan is very popular with customers even though it costs up to 30,000 VND per kilogram. "Every day I sell about 50 kg of Thai rambutan, and I close orders for durian once a week," Ms. Hanh said.

Speaking to VnExpress, a representative of Thu Duc agricultural wholesale market said that this market currently does not import Thai vegetables but only imports fruits, including rambutan, longan, tamarind, durian and mangosteen.

“Thai tamarinds were imported in large quantities in late 2015 and early 2016, while longan is imported year-round, but the quantity of these products currently arriving at the market is small. It is not until May and June, when the main season comes, that the quantity of goods increases sharply. However, if we compare the amount of fruit imported from Thailand in recent years with the previous years, there has been a sharp increase,” said a representative of the wholesale market.

At Binh Dien wholesale market, the market representative said that every day, 250-300 tons of various fruits are imported. Most of them are Vietnamese fruits, the remaining 10% are imported goods. Currently, Thai fruits at this market include tamarind, longan, and sapodilla, but the quantity is not high. Thai fruits will be abundant from the 5th lunar month onwards because that is when the season begins.

Besides Thai fruits entering Vietnam through official channels, imported goods stores said that many products go through unofficial channels.

The owner of a store specializing in imported fruits in Ho Chi Minh City said that Thai fruits imported through unofficial channels are no less than Chinese goods. However, the authorities have only inspected official goods, while unofficial goods imported through the border area with Cambodia are almost completely ignored.

“There are big traders offering attractive prices for Thai fruits, but we do not accept them because their origin is unclear. Therefore, consumers should be cautious because not all Thai products are of guaranteed quality,” said the store owner.

Recently, Thai-PAN (Thai Pesticide Alert Network) published a survey on fruits in this country showing that more than half of Thai fruits and vegetables labeled Q by the Government as quality were found to have chemical residues exceeding the permitted threshold. Of 138 samples of popular fruits and vegetables in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Ubon Ratchathani, 46.6% of the samples contained residues higher than the safety standard. Notably, 57.1% of fruits and vegetables labeled Q by the National Committee for Food Standards and Agricultural Commodities of Thailand were also found to be unsafe.

25% of products certified as organic (no chemicals used) were also found to have chemical residues exceeding the permitted threshold.

Thai-PAN said many of the fruit and vegetable samples were taken from modern stores, where consumers pay higher prices than at the market. However, 46% of these high-priced fruits and vegetables also had residues exceeding the allowable threshold, only slightly lower than the 48% of those purchased at the market.

In total, 11 banned substances were found in these samples. Specifically, 100% of red chili samples had toxic residues exceeding the standard, followed by basil and long beans (66.7%), Chinese cabbage (55.6%), Chinese cabbage (33.3%), spinach (22.2%), and tomatoes and cucumbers (11.1%). However, 100% of cabbage samples did not contain any toxic substances.

As for fruits, 100% of oranges and guavas had toxic residues exceeding the standards. Dragon fruit, papaya and nam dokmai mango were also found to be unsafe, with toxic residue levels of 71.4%, 66.7% and 44.4% respectively. Watermelon had no residues, consistent with the results of a 2014 Mahidol University study.

The results have been sent to relevant food chains, associations and government agencies.

Talking to VnExpress about imported Thai fruits and vegetables, Mr. Hoang Trung, Director of the Plant Protection Department, said that he has not received any warning documents from Thailand. However, this agency will also review. Therefore, consumers should also be cautious with imported fruit products.

According to VnExpress