Vietnamese agricultural products have enjoyed bustling export to China since the country reopened its border on January 8.

Increases in both export volume and value

Exporters have reported a sharp increase in the number of orders from the Chinese market since the border re-opening.

Vo Tan Loi, Director of Phuong Ngoc Cai Be Ltd Co based in Tien Giang province, said his company’s orders have risen compared to the time during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We have planned to order from growers to sell at full capacity, about 160-200 tonnes of durian and jackfruit per day,” he said.

Similar to Phuong Ngoc Company, Hoa Cuong Fruit Import-Export Co., Ltd is also busy buying fruit to meet orders. The company is purchasing about 1,500-2,500 tonnes of fruit per month to ship to China, much higher than before.

As Vietnam’s largest agricultural product importer, China currently imports nearly 10 billion USD worth of agricultural products from Vietnam each year. Particularly, shipments to China always account for more than 50% of Vietnam’s total vegetable and fruit export turnover.

According to export businesses, the export of agricultural products to China is increasing by 30% to 50%.  

In particular, since the Chinese market re-opened, the prices of agricultural products such as dragon fruit, durian, and jackfruit, have soared significantly. Nguyen Quoc Trinh, Chairman of Long An Dragon Fruit Association said the price of dragon fruit rose very sharply, three times higher than during the pandemic.

Not only dragon fruit, but the prices of durian also increased unprecedentedly.

General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association Dang Phuc Nguyen assessed that Vietnamese agricultural products are being supported from many sides. After the visit of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong to China, in early November 2022, a series of fruit and vegetable export protocols were signed in favour of Vietnam. In particular, durian and jackfruit are the groups enjoying the earliest benefit.

Towards sustainable export

It can be seen that the reopening of China has helped the price of agricultural products increase as the market gradually becomes active again. But experts said businesses should not be too hasty to return to the market without careful preparation, because China now has new and quite strict regulations for imported goods.

Therefore, not only increasing the value of exports, Vietnam needs to aim at sustainable exports and find ways to retain this important market.

To promote the export of agricultural and aquatic products to this market of billions of people, Deputy Director of the Asia-Africa Market Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade) To Ngoc Son recommended that localities and management agencies should build development strategies and build brands, in parallel with building production areas and concentrated, large-scale specialised farming areas, based on market signals.

For businesses, it is necessary to regularly update and comply with regulations on quality standards, testing, quarantine, packaging, and traceability of the Chinese market. Along with that, businesses must focus on branding and brand protection and carefully study the needs and development trends of the market.

Enterprises also need to take advantage of the Vietnam-China rail transport route and promote market exploitation through the form of e-commerce./.