VietNamNet Bridge - Of the total fruit import turnover in the first four months of the year, four out of every five dollars were for Thailand.

The figure was released by Nguyen Dinh Bich, a farm produce expert from the Vietnam Trade Research Institute. Bich commented that the figure was ‘worryingly high’.

A report released recently by the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetables Association (Vinafruit) showed that Thailand had jumped into the first position on the list of the biggest fruit exporters to Vietnam.

In the first three months of the year, Vietnam imported $60 million worth of vegetables and fruits from Thailand, an increase of 125 percent over the same period last year. 

Thai products’ market share in Vietnam has increased from 24.13 percent to 38.18 percent, which is higher than that of Chinese products.

In the first three months of the year, Vietnam imported $60 million worth of vegetables and fruits from Thailand, an increase of 125 percent over the same period last year.

Though Thai fruits have higher selling prices than Vietnamese and Chinese, they still are still favored by Vietnamese. 

Thai mango, for example, wholesales at VND36,000 per kilo, VND10,000 per kilo higher than Vietnamese mango. 

Meanwhile, bon bon as called by Vietnamese, or Lansium domesticum, is sold at VND200,000 per kilo, three times higher than the Vietnamese product of the same kind.

“Thailand is a big fruit exporter in the world market. This will certainly help persuade Vietnamese consumers use Thai fruits,” Bich said. “As living standards have improved, Vietnamese will have more diverse demands.”

According to Nguyen Thanh Ha, deputy director of the Thu Duc Wholesale Market in HCM City, Vietnamese now favor Thai fruits because they think Thai fruits are safer than Chinese.

Vo Mai, former deputy head of the Plant Protection Agency, noted that Vietnamese consumers have confidence in Thai fruits after tens of years of using Thai products, from household-use appliances to cosmetics.

Mai warned that more Thai products would penetrate the Vietnamese market in the time to come, especially when Thai investors hold important retail chains in Vietnam.

However, though admitting the advantages of Thai fruits, the experts believe that competing with Thai products is within reach.

Bich thinks that Vietnam should focus on producing safe fruits which can meet standards on food hygiene. 

“If Vietnam can do this, won’t Vietnamese consumers turn their back to Vietnamese fruits. This will allow them to compete with Thai fruits and retain domestic market share,” Bich commented.

Meanwhile, Mai believes that it is necessary to build up a value chain which connects the farm and the dining table. 

She also suggested using advanced post-harvesting and processing technologies to preserve and process fruits.

“Thanks to good preservation and processing, Chile can create at least 10 products from dragon fruit. Vietnam can only sell fresh dragon fruit,” she said.


NCDT