One month after Vietnam’s first shipment of 100 tons of durian to China, about 10,000 tons of durian were exported to the world’s largest durian market via official channels. Vietnamese durian is competitive with Thai durian in quality and price. 

Vietnamese exporters have received big orders from China. The Van Xuan Phat Import-Export Co. said it will export 1,000 tons of durian to China each month while the Dung Thai Son Import - Export Trade JSC has signed contracts to export 500,000 tons of durian to the market. The company plans to cultivate 3,000-5,000 hectares of durian to serve China.

Vietnam’s rice became famous in the world market after ST25 rice was a part of a special lunch at the Japanese cabinet office. ‘Com Vietnam’ (Vietnam’s rice) is available on shelves at 4,000 supermarkets in France. The rice is now not only sold at small supermarkets targeted at Asians, but also distributed by large distribution chains in choosy markets.

Nguyen Thai Binh, general director of Trung An Hi-tech Agriculture JSC, said the European market favors Vietnam’s high-quality rice.

“The price of rice exports to Europe is very high, $700-1,250 per ton. We export 30 containers of rice to the market each month,” he said.

A representative of a seafood company said the number of orders has not been too high this year because of inflation, but the company’s processing factories are running at full capacity to fulfill orders. 

The demand from the US, Japan and the EU will increase sharply from October to serve the festive season.

New records 

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)'s report, agricultural export turnover reached VND40.8 billion by September, 15.2 percent up year on year. Export revenue of seven products reached over $2 billion. Most key export items recorded two-digit growth rates.

Record revenues were reported for many products, including coffee ($3.1 billion, up by 37.6 percent), rice ($2.6 billion, 9.3 percent), cassava and cassava-made products ($1 billion, 21 percent), catfish ($2 billion, 83.3 percent), shrimp ($3.5 billion, 24.8 percent), and woodwork ($12.4 billion, 11.4 percent). 

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP)’s secretary general Truong Dinh Hoe, since September the input material supply has been stable thanks to good news about petrol prices, while demand has increased again as importers have cleared their stocks.

“We hope the Chinese market will open its door again after the ‘Zero Covid’ policy ends. If so, exports will become stable and develop well in 2023,” Hoe said.

Asked about high inflation rates in major markets which may affect consumption, he said catfish has advantages as it is affordable. 

Hoe said export turnover for seafood should be $10 billion this year, a record high. He predicted that it may be attainable by the end of November. Catfish exports alone are believed to bring turnover of $2.5-2.6 billion.

Regarding rice, India’s prohibition of broken rice exports and new export tax of 20 percent on many products has influenced the world market, including Vietnam.

Vietnam’s 5-percent broken rice has increased by $30 per ton, and 25 percent broken rice by $25. Because of the absence of rice supply from India, Chinese businesses have sought broken rice from Vietnam.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien said that agricultural export turnover will reach a record high of $55 billion this year.

He said Vietnam’s farm exports now have great advantages. As the US dollar appreciates, Vietnam’s products will be more favorable as they are cheaper in the world market. Meanwhile, food and foodstuff demand are usually high in western countries in the last three months of the year.

Tam An