AsemconnectVietnam - In the structure of the global fruit and vegetable import market, the EU is Vietnam’s largest import market, followed by the United States, China, the United Kingdom and Canada.

The Import-Export Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade) said that the five largest fruit and vegetable import markets in the world include the EU, the United States, China, the UK and Canada. In the structure of the global fruit and vegetable import market, the EU is the largest import market, followed by the United States, China, the United Kingdom and Canada. In which, the country’s import value of fruit and vegetables from most of the major markets increased, except for the UK and Canada.
According to the statistics figure from Eurostat, in the first 4 months of 2023, the EU's imports of fruit and vegetables (HS 06.07.08 and 20, in which HS08 code minus codes 080131 and 080132) of the EU reached 47.6 billion USD, an increase of 8.6% over the same period of 2022.
The proportion of imports from Vietnam is still very low, accounting for only 0.18% of the total import value of the EU. Meanwhile, EU consumer demand is spread throughout the year and depends largely on imports from outside.
In order for vegetables and fruits to enter the EU market, exporters need to pay attention that EU people only consume products of high quality and uniformity, ensuring food safety, convenience, and products must be produced in a sustainable, low-emissions and socially responsible process.
For the US market, according to the statistics figures from the US International Trade Commission, the import value of US fruits and vegetables in the first five months of 2023 reached 24.1 billion USD, up by 3.1% over in the same period of 2022. In which, the proportion of imports from Vietnam tended to decrease, accounting for 0.6% of the US’s total imports, down by 0.12 percentage points compared to the same period of 2022.
With an import demand for vegetables and fruits of over 46 billion USD per year, the United States is a potential market for fruit and vegetable exporting countries, including Vietnam. However, the exploitation of this market has not been as expected, because the geographical distance between Vietnam and the United States is too far, so if fresh fruit is brought into the United States, the issue of long-term preservation technology must be prioritized. Vietnam's fruit exports to the United States are currently aimed at Asian consumers, in which the Vietnamese community in the United States is the main.
This is one reason why not many Vietnamese fruits enter the United States. It is necessary to promote promotion and introduce products to other communities because the United States is the United States of America.
The implementation of irradiation requirements with fresh produce while our irradiation facilities meet the requirements of the United States is too small, which has increased transportation costs. Accordingly, it is necessary to solve infrastructure problems such as traffic, science and technology, e-commerce, logistics, seed technology and post-harvest preservation, understanding customer tastes, marketing promotion and building a national brand for Vietnamese agricultural products.
China is the third largest fruit and vegetable import market in the world. According to statistics from China Customs, in the first 6 months of 2023, China's fruit and vegetable imports reached 13.7 billion USD, up by 6.8% over the same period of 2022. Due to its geographical proximity to China, it is cheaper to transport Vietnamese fresh fruits and vegetables to this market, keeping freshness and quality, so it is more competitive than other suppliers.
However, in order to increase the value of exports to the Chinese market, Vietnam's vegetables and fruits must be of good quality to meet consumer tastes. This requires Vietnamese enterprises to master and comply with the current system of regulations and standards of the Chinese market. Enterprises need to regularly update and comply with the regulations on quality standards, testing, quarantine, packaging, and traceability of the Chinese market.
In addition, we should have a logistics strategy, building warehouses to preserve agricultural products in border localities to help preserve them longer and keep good quality when the delivery deadline comes.
The UK and Canada are also the two main import markets for fruits and vegetables worldwide, but the import demand of both markets decreased in the first months of 2023. The import value of fruit and vegetable products of the UK reached 6.1 billion USD in the first 4 months of 2023, down by 5.3% over the same period of 2022; followed by Japan with 5.4 billion USD in the first five months of 2023, down by 38%.
The proportion of imports from Vietnam of both markets accounts for less than 1% of the total import value, very low compared to the demand. Therefore, there are still many opportunities for Vietnamese fruit and vegetable exporters to exploit.
CK
Source: VITIC/congthuong.vn