On the days just before 2023 Tet, Ngo Tuong Vy, general director of Chanh Thu Fruit Export, was still very busy implementing orders for pomelo and durian exports. 

Vy said following the first durian shipment to China under the full-tax exporting in September 2022, more and more durian-laden trucks have been heading for China, the world’s largest durian market.

“Orders are rapid fire, but now is not the major season of durian, so output is low,” she said, adding that her company can satisfy only one-tenth of orders from China.

Orders for pomelo are also coming following the first shipment of 40 tons of red flesh pomelo exports in late November 2022. 

The company has one shipment of 20-30 tons of pomelo to the US each week. Suppliers contact to place orders, but demand is far beyond the supply capability. 

As large and choosy markets are now open, enterprises believe that 2023 will be the time for them to step up the export of the two fruits. 

Export turnover is expected to increase by twofold as enterprises believe they can enter markets thanks to good preparations in material growing areas, production quality and market information.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong, director of RYB, said the first batch of Cao Phong oranges departed for the UK in early January. Prior to that, Tan Lac red pomelos also headed for the market. 

According to Huong, the demand for fruit is high, and  the only issue is whether exporters can satisfy importers’ requirements. 

After a long period of preparation, no element on the list of 900 plant protection elements that must be tested under European standards was found in all the orange and pomelo samples.

The first consignments of products to the UK have received customs clearance and are going to be put on supermarket shelves. Huong believes that bigger orders will come from the EU market in 2023.

In Long An province, Truong Quang An, director of Tam Vu Dragon Fruit Cooperative said that dragon fruit prices have increased sharply and importers have placed big orders. 

White flesh dragon fruit is selling at VND20,000 per kilogram, while red flesh is VND30,000. Besides the cooperative’s output, An has had to collect dragon fruit from other farms to implement export orders.

“China has reopened its market, so exports to the market are going well. Besides, clients from Thailand and the EU also want to import products in large quantities,” he said.

Bright prospects

Hoang Trung, head of the Plant Protection Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), said 2022 was the most successful year so far for Vietnam’s veggie and fruits, when many products entered choosy markets. 

The Japanese market has accepted Vietnam’s longan, while bananas, durian, sweet potatoes and passion fruit now can enter the Chinese market through official channels. And New Zealand has opened its market to Vietnam’s lemon and pomelo.

Prior to that, in H1 2022, Vietnam’s fruit export suffered heavily from China's ‘zero Covid’ policy. Export  turnover saw minus growth and it only began increasing in July.

In August 2022, veggie and fruit export turnover, for the first time in the year, witnessed a positive growth rate of 19.7 percent compared with the same period of 2021. 

The growth continued in the next months. It was also the time when passion fruit, durian and banana officially entered the Chinese market. In October 2022, durian exports to China saw a boom, up 4,120 percent over the same period of 2021. 

Thanks to the strong rebound in H2, veggie and fruit exports brought $3.4 billion worth of turnover in 2022, which meant a slight decrease of 5.1 percent compared with 2021.

Nguyen Phuc Nguyen, secretary general of the Vietnam Vegetable and Fruit Association, said the opening of the Chinese and other markets allowed Vietnam’s export turnover to increase significantly in the last months of 2022. The improved quality of products also boosted exports to large markets. 

Exports to the US, for example, grew by 14.4 percent in the first 11 months of 2022, while figures were 14.1 percent for South Korea, 19.7 percent for Thailand, 7.3 percent for Japan and 47.2 percent for the Netherlands.

Nguyen said Vietnam’s veggie and fruit exports are expected to boom in 2023, with the reopening of the Chinese market. Together with dragon fruit, durian will become another ‘multi-billion dollar’ fruit of Vietnam. Veggie and fruit export turnover may hit $4 billion, a record high, this year.

Tam An