AsemconnectVietnam - Fruit growers who offer tourism services in their orchards in Dong Nai province are diversifying their products to attract tourists and increase incomes.

The southeastern region’s largest fruit producing province has more than 70,000ha of orchards and is well known for fruits such as durian, grapefruit, orange, mandarin, and custard apple.
Major fruit growing districts like Tan Phu, Vinh Cuu, Cam My, Xuan Loc, and Long Thanh and Long Khanh city have expanded orchard tourism services in recent years.
Besides traditional specialty fruits like small-seed durian and mangosteen, farmers grow new ones such as Musang King durian to serve tourists.
In Vinh Cuu district’s Tan Binh commune, Tan Trieu riverine island is well known for ‘buoi duong la cam’, a local speciality grapefruit, and many orchard owners here offer tourism services.
They also make various products from the fruit such as wine, jam, essential oil, grapefruit milk tea, and salads to serve tourists.
Durian exports forecast to boom
Vietnam’s durian exports are expected to see a boom in the time ahead when the durian harvest season reaches its peak, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
In the first three months of this year when the main durian season had yet to come, export of the fruit still grew sharply, making up 16% of the country’s fruit and vegetable export revenue, the ministry said.
Customs statistics show that in the first quarter, Vietnam earned 153 million USD from durian exports, up more than 8.3 times from the corresponding time last year, with China accounting for up to 87% of the market share, hitting nearly 134 million USD in turnover.
The neighbouring country was also the biggest buyer of Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable in the reviewed period with 41%. Apart from durian and dragon fruit, it imported large amounts of Vietnamese banana, jackfruit and mango.
Vietnam’s vegetable and fruit exports are predicted to continue growing strongly in the second quarter and the whole year to reach yearly revenue of 4 billion USD, up 20% from 2022.
Notably, the country is likely to earn 1 billion USD from durian exports this year.
Vietnamese fruits gain strong foothold in Australia
Australia has so far opened its market for four kinds of fresh fruit from Vietnam - dragon fruit, lychee, mango and longan, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Vegetable and fruits register the highest growth rate among Vietnamese exports to Australia, only behind fishery products.
The ministry’s statistic revealed that export turnover to Australia increased at an annual average of 9% during 2009-2022.
However, experts said there is still a lot of work needed for Vietnamese agricultural products to secure a firm foothold in Australia, which has more stringent requirements than the US, EU on labeling, food safety and trace of origin.
According to the ministry, in order to boost agricultural exports, enterprises should have a better understanding about requirements and business practices of the market. Besides, Vietnamese and Australian agencies should coordinate more closely to deal with requirements on biological safety for imported farm produce and broaden the scope of agricultural cooperation between the two countries.
Dragon fruit export turnover reaches 47 million USD
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has announced that the country's total export value of dragon fruit so far this year topped 47 million USD, a fall of 48.7% compared to the same period las year.
The fruit has been exported to more than 40 countries and territories with China, India, the US, Thailand and the Netherlands being the biggest importers.
However, in the first two months of 2023, its export saw a slump in some markets such as the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Japan with decreases of 25.9% and 35.4%, respectively year-on-year.
However, the export of the fruit is expected to bounce back as China - the biggest importer with 70% from Vietnam - has reopened its door.
Export turnover of the fruit is expected to top 1 billion USD in 2023.
Bright prospect for fruit, vegetable exports in Q2
Despite declines in the export of some agricultural products, overseas shipments of fruits and vegetables remain positive, promising a bright prospect in the second quarter of 2023.
Vietnam exported nearly 1 billion USD worth of fruits and vegetables in Q1, rising 7% from a year earlier, reported the Centre for Digital Transformation and Statistics under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Dang Phuc Nguyen, Secretary General of the Vietnam Fruit Association (Vinafruit), said thanks to high demand in China, which reopened in Q1 after the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses have promoted exports to this neighbouring market. Prices of such fruits as durian and dragon fruit have also soared.
Due to China’s strong fruit import, many border gates of Vietnam have extended their working time to 10pm every day.
T.Huong
Source: Vitic/Reuters