Vietnam targets vegetable, fruit export value at US$3 billion

“After many years of export value under US$1 billion, in recent years, the export value has made a breakthrough, which is why it was able to exceed the target this year, although there were many difficulties,” Huynh Quang Dau, deputy chairman of the Vietnam Vegetable and Fruit Association, told Vietnam News.

This year and beyond, the vegetable and fruit industry will face long-term difficulties, including climate change, which would result in a reduction of vegetable and fruit output and quality, and land accumulation for the industry, Dau said.

Meanwhile, most enterprises of the industry are small- and medium-sized units with less capital, said Dau, adding that technical barriers in vegetable and fruit importing countries have also increased further.

However, in recent years, Vietnam’s vegetables and fruits have entered markets with strict rules, such as the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Taiwan, as well as Australia, New Zealand and Chile, following 4-5 years of successful negotiations by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Further, farms and enterprises have produced vegetable and fruit products meeting the quality and food safety standards in those countries, he said.

“That would be the basis for promoting exports this year and beyond,” Dau said.

Nguyen Do Anh Tuan, head of the ministry’s Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development, said this year, enterprises and farmers would pour investment into fruits, cashew and shrimps because those products have great potential in production and business.

In particular, they would invest in high-technological and clean agriculture to create leading brands for the global market, he said. The enterprises would focus on processing farming, forestry and fishery products to create new value and improve the level of Vietnam’s products in the international market.

Fruits have great potential as people’s income increases, so does the demand for high-quality fruits, he said.

Last year, the nation’s total export value of vegetables and fruits was US$2.4 billion, US$200 million higher than the yearly target.