VietNamNet Bridge - Vegetables and fruits, which brought modest export turnover in the past, have become the new driving force for the country's agriculture as other exports have reached the critical point.

A report of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) shows that Vietnam’s vegetable & fruit export turnover reached $1.68 billion by September 15, higher than export turnover from crude oil.

The new momentum

Vegetables and fruits, which brought modest export turnover in the past, have become the new driving force for the country's agriculture as other exports have reached the critical point.

The first consignment of 1 ton of fresh mango last week went to Australia after the country agreed to open its market to Vietnam’s mango. Agricare Vietnam, the exporter, said the company is making hectic preparations for the next export consignment, to be shipped to Australia next week.

Huynh Le Quang Nhat from Agricare Vietnam said mango has been welcomed by Australian customers. Therefore, the company plans to export bigger amount this time.
 
It is expected that Vietnam’s dragonfruit would arrive in the market early next year.

Hugo, after three months of interruption, has prepared to resume the marine shipment of dragon fruit to the US market, while considering shipping fruits to the US by air.

Vuong Dinh Khoat, general director of Hugo, said Vietnam’s dragon fruit has been added to the list of fruit for students’ meals in the US.

In the last three years, Vietnam has had new kinds of fruits exported to choosy markets every year.

In the past, Vietnam only exported frozen and processed fruits at low value. But now, it can export fresh fruits which bring much higher value. 

The US, Japan, South Korea and Australia all have high demand.

Nguyen Huu Dat from the Vietnam Fruit & Vegetables Association (Vinafruit) said that fruit has become the new momentum for Vietnam’s farm produce export, saying that there are still big opportunities to increase the exports. 

Meanwhile, the other export items such as rice, cashew nut, pepper and coffee won’t see sharp increases.

Growing fruits instead of rice?

Despite considerable improvement in recent years, according to experts, the fruit exports to choosy markets remain modest. China remains the major export market for Vietnam which consumes 50-60 percent of total exports.

Khoat from Hugo said though Vietnam can open the doors to some choosy markets, there are still many things for Vietnamese companies to do to exploit the market. 

“Since Vietnam’s fruits are grown by farmers in small scale, it is very difficult to control the quality and prices,” he said.

Meanwhile, Dat noted that in order to minimize risks, fruit exporters tend to become producers. They invest money in land and technology to grow and process fruit preliminarily.


Nam Lich