A quick report from the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association (Vinafruit) said that fruit and vegetable export turnover in March was estimated at nearly 470 million USD, up 44.3% over the previous month and up 12.4% over the same period last year. Cumulatively in the first quarter of 2024, fruit and vegetable exports reached nearly 1.3 billion USD, an increase of 30.8% over the same period in 2023. This is the first time in history that vegetable export turnover reached over 1 billion USD in the first quarter.
Notably, main export markets of Vietnamese fruits and vegetables such as China, Korea, the US, Thailand and Japan all recorded high growth. Leading in export value is Chinese market, reaching 759.4 million USD, an increase of 32.4% over the same period in 2023. Currently, Chinese market accounts for 59.1% of total export value of entire industry.
Next, Korean market reached 74.6 million USD, an increase of 59.3%; America reached 67.7 million USD, an increase of 33.9%. In particular, Thai market reached 47.6 million USD, a sudden increase of 112%.
Regarding results achieved, according to Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen - General Secretary of Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, it is due to contribution of durian and dragon fruit in off-season. Along with that, in Korean market, geopolitical conflicts and influences from the Red Sea caused fruit sources from South America and the Middle East exported to Korea to be interrupted. Rising freight rates and long shipping times have caused a shortage of fruit and vegetable supply in Korea. Therefore, Korea has increased import of vegetables and fruits from Vietnam to compensate for this shortfall.
“Freight rates doubled, shipping time increased to 40 days instead of 25 days as before, making it difficult to import vegetables and fruits from South America and the Middle East. This is an opportunity for Vietnamese businesses to increase exports to Korea," Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen shared.
Looking at prospects for exporting fruits and vegetables in 2024, Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen - General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association said that although forecast of the world and domestic economic situation still faces many difficulties but fruit and vegetable industry has a lot of room to reach an export turnover of 7 billion USD. Main factors that push fruit and vegetable industry to achieve its target in 2024 include: Demand in the largest fruit and vegetable export market, China, remains high. Currently, Vietnam is still negotiating with China to have more products officially exported to this market. Besides, continue to promote exports to major markets such as the US, EU, Australia, Korea...

Source: congthuong.vn