The information was given at Forum "Improving quality, value chain and promoting consumption of fruit tree products in the Northern provinces" organized by Department of Crop Production (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), Vietnam Gardening Association, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Hoa Binh province and related units in coordination with Vietnam Agriculture Newspaper on the afternoon of December 6.
Fruit and vegetable exports in 11 months earned 6.66 billion USD
According to Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam's fruit and vegetable industry is affirming its position in international market. Vietnam's fruit and vegetable export turnover in the first 11 months of 2024 reached 6.66 billion USD, an increase of 28.2% over the same period in 2023...This is the highest level ever, with key products such as durian, dragon fruit, banana, jackfruit, mango.
It is expected that Vietnam's fruit and vegetable exports in 2024 could reach 7.2 billion USD, of which, export of fruit products alone could reach over 6.5 billion USD. Northern provinces, with favorable soil and climate conditions, have great potential to develop many types of fruit trees such as lychee, longan, orange, grapefruit, plum and peach...
Currently, Vietnam has opened its market for 19 types of agricultural products of plant origin and fresh fruit to be officially exported to a number of major markets such as: China, the United States, Korea, Japan, the EU and Australia.
Mr. Tran Van Chien - Deputy Director of Post-Import Plant Quarantine Center I (Plant Protection Department - Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) - informed that there are 6 main markets that have opened their doors to Vietnamese fruit trees, the most being China, followed by the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea.
General regulations on plant quarantine for products in export markets include: Must be granted a code for growing area, packaging facility, quarantine treatment facility before export; not contaminated with prohibited pests; ensure traceability of origin of export shipment; packaging and labeling that meet requirements of the markets; plant quarantine inspection at the port of arrival.
In addition, each market has different requirements. For example, the United States prohibits pests on grapefruit such as fruit flies, fruit borers, and some types of fungi. Meanwhile, New Zealand has banned additional pests such as leafhoppers, mealybugs, thrips, red spiders, etc.
South Korea, which is also an open market for grapefruit, requires that hot steam treatment facility must be located in packaging facility and approved by Plant Protection Department. Treatment must be carried out under supervision of Korean and Vietnamese plant quarantine officers.
For EU market, which has the strictest requirements in the world, there is no need for a pest risk assessment and no official approval from competent EU authority before exporting to the EU.
However, EU requires that citrus trees must be treated with Calcium hypochlorite or Sodium hypochlorite solution (concentration of 200ppm, minimum time of 2 minutes) at licensed treatment facilities licensed by the Plant Protection Department.
Speaking more about key export market of China, Mr.Chien informed that vegetables and fruits can only be exported through a number of designated border gates. Along with that, packaging must be clean and unused. Each packaging box must be labeled with Chinese or English characters according to regulations.
“Good news for producers, it is expected that in 2025, Vietnam will have more passion fruit products exported to the United States. Along with that, guava, lemon and jackfruit have been sent market opening documents by Plant Protection Department to the US. In addition, lychee is also completing documents to export to Korea”, said Mr. Tran Van Chien.
Adapting to tastes of each export market
Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tung - Deputy General Director of Dong Giao Food Export Joint Stock Company (Doveco) - shared that Vietnam exports vegetables and fruits to more than 40 countries and territories around the world. Major markets include: China, the US, Korea, Japan, etc.
Demand of international markets is very large in terms of volume and diversity in types of vegetables and fruits originating from Vietnam. For example: China imports durian, dragon fruit, banana, jackfruit, mango, lychee... The US imports baby melon, dragon fruit, mango, longan, lychee, rambutan, star apple, grapefruit, coconut...
Currently, challenges for Vietnam's fruit and vegetable exports include: small-scale production, lack of value chain linkage, difficulty in applying technology, lack of capital and infrastructure. In addition, cold storage system and standard preservation system are still weak...Countries importing fruits and vegetables have high requirements for quality and food safety. Vietnam needs to meet international standards such as GlobalGAP, HACCP-SGS...
Regarding Chinese market, Mr. Le Thanh Hoa - Deputy Director of the Department of Quality, Processing and Market Development (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) - assessed that this has been and is number one export market for Vietnamese fruit trees. The biggest problem in exporting vegetables and fruits to China is that the two sides have not agreed on quarantine procedures, leading to long customs clearance times. In addition, some products have not yet been renewed in the Protocol, and are also subject to very high frequency of inspection. Regarding Hoa Binh's key products such as grapefruit and citrus trees, Mr. Hoa informed that China is the leading producer of these products. Therefore, producers need to focus on specialty, typical and unique products in China, such as green-skin grapefruit. In addition to the Chinese market, Mr. Hoa recommended that units should exploit markets with which Vietnam has signed FTAs, such as the EU. Along with that, producers should pay attention to pesticide residue levels, hygiene, and food safety when exporting products abroad.

Source: Vitic/ congthuong.vn