With robust export of fruits and vegetables, the industry has set a typical example for quick transformation in the context of economic difficulty to tap the potential and expand global reach.
Statistics of the Import-Export Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade showed that fruit and vegetable exports totalled US$510 million in January, representing a rise of 24.9 per cent over December and 112.1 per cent against the same month last year.
Looking back at 2023, many fruits saw impressive growth in export, such as durian by 430.1 per cent to $2.2 billion. The export revenue of dragon fruit reached $523 million, banana $242 million, jackfruit $168 million and mango $154 million.
Bright prospects are fuelled by the huge demand of the Chinese market, with Việt Nam negotiating for official export of more types of fruits coupled with efforts to promote exports to other markets such as the US, EU, Australia and the Republic of Korea, according to the department.
The department forecast the export of fruits and vegetables will reach $6.5 billion this year, after setting a record of nearly $5.6 billion in 2023.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Lê Minh Hoan said that the thinking needs to be changed to keep up with the market-based mechanism.
“Việt Nam is open, our market is the whole world and we are also a part of the global market. There is no certain data on how much the world consumes each year. Thus, the thinking must be changed,” he said.
The competition is growing fiercer, he said, adding that the planning for the agricultural sector also needs to be renovated. “The planning must be more market-based. We must have a framework to guide production following market signals.”
He also said that the industry should take advantage of trade agreements to expand global reach, besides domestic consumption.
Huge potential
There is huge potential for the fruit and vegetable industry to expand export which has just accounted for 2-3 per cent of the global fruit and vegetable export revenue.
