Vietnam: Fruit and vegetable exports are on track to grow strongly after the record of 2023

Following the export record set last year, the fruits and vegetables sector continues to maintain momentum with a nearly 90% growth in the first month of 2024. With this optimistic start, the agriculture industry also anticipates that fruit and vegetable exports will bring in billions of dollars this year. In fact, if this growth trend is sustained, fruits and vegetables are forecasted to surpass the exports of other major industries in the coming years.

Regarding the product structure, Vietnamese durian is expected to continue making breakthroughs in exports to China in the near future. In January 2024, there were 708 durian cultivation areas and 168 packaging facilities in Vietnam permitted to export to China.

At the time when Vietnam and China signed the memorandum of understanding on the mainstream import and export of durian, the projected value of this fruit was only slightly over 1 billion dollars. However, by the end of 2023, the total value of this product had nearly doubled. It is forecasted that in 2024, if China agrees to import mainstream frozen durian, the export value of durian will increase even more.

Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen believes that the export opportunities for durian to the Chinese market, in particular, and other markets, in general, are still significant. Especially since many countries only harvest this fruit seasonally, while in Vietnam, it is harvested all year round. This is the unique advantage of Vietnamese durian.

The positive results of durian and the agricultural sector also lead to the expectation that China will open up sustainable mainstream channels for many Vietnamese agricultural products. In the export structure of fruits and vegetables, China also spends a lot of money importing dragon fruit, lychee, longan, mango, jackfruit, watermelon, banana, rambutan, lychee, passion fruit, etc., from Vietnam.