Bright prospect for fruit, vegetable exports in Q2

Workers stack durians onto a truck for transportation in Da Huoai district of Lam Dong province. (Photo: VNA)

HCMCity (VNA) – Despite declines in the export of some agricultural products, overseasshipments of fruits and vegetables remain positive, promising a bright prospectin the second quarter of 2023.

Vietnamexported nearly 1 billion USD worth of fruits and vegetables in Q1, rising 7%from a year earlier, reported the Centre for Digital Transformation andStatistics under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

DangPhuc Nguyen, Secretary General of the Vietnam Fruit Association (Vinafruit),said thanksto high demand in China, which reopened in Q1 after the COVID-19 pandemic,businesses have promoted exports to this neighbouring market. Prices of such fruitsas durian and dragon fruit have also soared.

Dueto China’s strong fruit import, many border gates of Vietnam have extendedtheir working time to 10pm every day. 

Good demand for fruit imports in China can help raise totalfruit and vegetable exports in Q2 by 10% or higher, Nguyen noted, predictingthat the revenue can reach about 2 billion USD in the first half of 2023.

Workers produce canned pineapple at a factory in An Giang province. (Photo: VNA)

Givingfurther details, he said that since Vietnamese durian was licenced to beexported via the official channel to China last year, this market hascontinually placed durian import orders. However, the first three months of the year was not the peak harvesttime so the export volume of this fruit remained small. When the harvest season begins in April, supplies will become abundant andbusinesses can better meet importers’ demand.

Aside from durian, jackfruit, banana, and dragon fruit are also among staple exports to China, whichwill help increase fruit and vegetable shipments to this 1.4-billion-people market to at least 2.5 billion USD this year, according to Nguyen.

Thefruit and vegetable sector now has a bright prospect in this market, he added.

In addition, processedproducts made up a considerable part, one-third, of fruit and vegetable exportsin 2022. This proportion was maintained in Q1 this year, showing foreignconsumers’ gradual acceptance of those products from Vietnam, according to the Foreign Trade Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade./.

VNA