In the first quarter of 2021, fruit and vegetable exports recorded a positive signal in most markets, typically China. It is forecasted that, from now to the end of the year, the exports of this billion-dollar industry will continue to recover, especially with high expectations from the new generation Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).

Fruit and vegetable export has a target of US$4 billion by 2021. Photo: N.Thanh 

Export value increased 6.1%

According to the Import and Export Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), in the first three months of 2021, the export of vegetables and fruits was estimated at US$944 million, up 6.1% over the same period in 2020. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, Vietnam's fruit and vegetable export activities have been quite active. The results are achieved through good disease control and uninterrupted export activities.

Speaking with Customs News, a leader of a company specializing in exporting fruit and vegetables to the US market said in 2020, the total export value of agricultural products of all kinds, of which vegetables and fruits account for the majority of this enterprise will reach US$48 million, of which exports to the United States accounted for 65%.

Since the beginning of the year, the market signal is still quite good, orders are plentiful.

In particular, tariff incentives from new-generation FTAs ​​such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Vietnam-EU FTA (EVFTA) and most recently, the Vietnam-United Kingdom FTA (UKVFTA) also contribute to improve production and export activities of enterprises.

"With the current export momentum, it is forecasted that this year the total value of the company's agricultural exports may grow by more than 10% compared to the previous year, of which vegetables contribute significantly to the value," the leader of this enterprise said.

From the perspective of the export market, the Import and Export Department stated that vegetables and fruits were mainly exported to the Chinese market in the first two months of 2021, reaching US$352.83 million, up 17.5% over the same period in 2020 accounting for 62.5% of the total export value of vegetables and fruits of Vietnam.

“The strong increase in exports to the Chinese market is due to the strong increase in consumption demand during the Lunar New Year. Next, fruit and vegetable products are also exported to other markets such as the United States, Thailand, Japan, Korea,” said the representative of the Import and Export Department.

FTA paves the way to increase exports

Regarding fruit and vegetable exports since the beginning of the year, according to the representative of Department of Agricultural Product Processing and Development (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), in addition to traditional markets, Vietnam's fruit and vegetable industry has promoted exports to many other large potential markets such as Egypt, Kuwait, Ukraine, Senegal.

These are expected to be the markets that help the Vietnamese fruit and vegetable industry increase export value in 2021 and the following years. In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, the group of processed fruits and vegetables will help the whole industry increase export value.

Particularly for the leading export market of China, the Department of Processing and Market Development added information, the fact that China increased the import of fruit from Vietnam to serve the Spring Festival is a positive sign for our country's fruit and vegetable industry. At Bang Tuong border gate – China's largest inland fruit trading port, the export of fruit products such as dragon fruit, jackfruit, watermelon, mango and many other fruits of Vietnam is improving.

After being strictly disinfected and implementing other measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19, the fruit trucks were taken to the customs-controlled area for inspection. The fruit will then be shipped from Bang Tuong fruit market to Guangzhou and Zhejiang, and then shipped across the country. In addition, Vietnamese fruits are brought into Chinese shopping malls as quickly as possible to reach consumers.

Dang Phuc Nguyen, General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association assessed that taking advantage of the effectiveness of new generation FTAs ​​such as EVFTA, CPTPP, UKVFTA is helping to pave the way for businesses to increase fruit and vegetable export turnover this year.

Notably, the UKVFTA promises to create a new driving force for economic and trade cooperation. When the agreement comes into effect, more than 94% of the total 547 tariff lines for vegetables and fruits and vegetables and products will have a tax rate of 0%. Many products that are the strength of Vietnam such as lychee, logan, rambutan, dragon fruit, pineapple, melon will have additional advantages to access the market with tropical fruits from competing countries such as Brazil, Thailand, Malaysia. This is because these countries do not have FTAs ​​with the UK.

"With positive signals from the beginning of 2021, it is forecasted that Vietnam's fruit and vegetable exports will have a prosperous year, despite the Covid-19," said Nguyen Quoc Toan, Director of the Department of Processing and Market Development for agricultural products.