Frozen Vietnamese durian sold at US supermarkets. Photo: CTV

Durian - the emerging "star"

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in the first 6 months of 2023, the export turnover of agriculture, forestry, and fishery products reached 24.5 billion USD, down 11.1% compared to the same period in 2022. Notably in the context of the export market faces many difficulties, Vietnam still has 7 products and groups of products with export value reaching over 1 billion USD. In which, exports of vegetables and fruits reached $2.7 billion, coffee $2.4 billion, rice $2.3 billion, cashew nuts $1.6 billion, shrimp $1.5 billion, and rubber $1 billion. Notably, vegetables and fruits were the most surprising products when the export turnover in 6 months reached 2.75 billion USD, up 64.2% over the same period last year. This is also a record-high number in this industry.

In the first 5 months of 2023, China ranked first in Vietnam's fruit and vegetable consumption with 63.5% market share, worth 1.29 billion USD, up 80% over the same period in 2022. is the highest growth rate in the top 10 largest fruit and vegetable import markets of Vietnam. According to an analysis by the Center for Digital Transformation and Agricultural Statistics (IPSARD), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in the first five months of 2023, China's fruit and vegetable import structure focused on the fruit group. In which, 5 fruits account for the highest value (84%), including durian (37%), dragon fruit (19%), banana (12%), jackfruit (9%), and mango (7%); the rest are fruits such as watermelon, coconut, chili, passion fruit, etc. In May alone, durian exports to China brought in a value of 319.8 million USD, an increase of more than 1,082% compared to April and increased over 57,061% over the same period last year (ie more than 10 times and more than 57 times); dragon fruit exports reached 46.5 million USD, up 82.5%. This also shows the seasonal nature of vegetables and fruits, so the export value fluctuates greatly from month to month.

In the top 10 largest fruit and vegetable export markets of Vietnam, China leads with nearly 63.5% market share, up more than 12.4% over the same period last year (turnover reached nearly 1.3 billion USD in 2018. first 5 months of the year). Followed by the Korean, Japanese, and Dutch markets all grew well, only the US decreased by 12% over the same period.

According to the Center for Digital Transformation and Agricultural Statistics, updated to May 2023, durian has officially surpassed dragon fruit, becoming the leading fruit in export revenue (combining all markets in the world) with a rate of 26%, followed by dragon fruit 15%, banana 9%.

Assessing the potential of Vietnam's fruit and vegetable industry, the Department of Crop Production (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) said that Vietnam is the 14th country in the world in fruit production with a total area of over 10 million hectares. 1.2 million hectares. The annual new planting area increased continuously, averaging more than 62,000 hectares per year in the southern region, focusing on crops of high economic value such as dragon fruit, durian, jackfruit, mango, and pomelo... This is a condition for our country to rank 9th in fruit and vegetable exports on the world market.

Focus on advanced deep processing

Talking to a reporter from Customs Magazine, Dang Phuc Nguyen, General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, said that this year is the year that the export turnover of agricultural products, especially durian products, has a sudden growth and can set a record ever. As a result, if the fruit and vegetable industry maintains its export momentum until the end of the year, the export turnover for the whole year can reach a record of 5 billion USD.

According to many experts, Vietnam's vegetable and fruit exports have increased thanks to the Protocols signed with China last year, which has helped Vietnam's fruit and vegetable export activities have many advantages. Along with that, China's increase in purchasing and continuous approval of durian growing area codes and packaging facilities for Vietnam also contributed to the record of the fruit and vegetable industry. It is known that Vietnam currently has 293 growing areas and 115 packing facilities that have been granted official export codes by China, the Plant Protection Department is working with the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) to unify the Schedule for the next online inspection for about 400 growing regions and 60 durian packing facilities.

However, the General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association also said that compared to its geographical position, Vietnam has more advantages than Thailand or Malaysia in exporting durian. For example, to reach the markets of China, Thailand takes 8 - 10 days to transport, while Vietnam only takes about 1.5 days. Shipping takes a few days, so all costs are reduced, helping to compete on selling prices in the market of billions of people. However, this advantage is not all, because we are losing the breed. Currently, the Chinese market is used to eating Thai Monthong durian or Malaysia's Musang King durian, so our durian is cheap but consumed less and the price is also lower. We have not really done well in seed work, we have not had quality fruit tree varieties. That is also the reason why many fruits such as mango and longan are weak against the competition of other exporting countries. Mr. Nguyen said that exporting fruits and vegetables to China would be more favorable if exporters could well meet market requirements in the direction of Good Manufacturing Practices (GAP).

Commenting on the situation of fruit and vegetable exports in the last 6 months of the year, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien affirmed that if the growth momentum is maintained in the last 6 months of this year, fruit and vegetable exports will certainly be in 2023. will reach over 5 billion USD. It's almost that we export raw, fresh fruit products. If better investment in deep processing, good seed work, cultivation process, potential exploitation, and market expansion, the figure of 10 billion USD from Vietnam's fruit and vegetable exports in the near future will be completely reached.