A workshop handling banana for export. (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnamese agricultural products have enjoyed bustlingexport to China since the country reopened its border on January 8.
Increasesin both export volume and value
Exporters have reported a sharp increase in the number of ordersfrom 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-19pandemic.
“We have plannedto order from growers to sell at full capacity, about 160-200 tonnes of durianand jackfruit per day,” he said.
Similar to Phuong Ngoc Company, Hoa Cuong Fruit Import-ExportCo., Ltd is also busy buying fruit to meet orders. The company is purchasingabout 1,500-2,500 tonnes of fruit per month to ship to China, much higher thanbefore.
As Vietnam’s largest agricultural product importer, Chinacurrently imports nearly 10 billion USD worth of agricultural products fromVietnam each year. Particularly, shipments to China always account for morethan 50% of Vietnam’s total vegetable and fruit export turnover.
According to export businesses, the export of agriculturalproducts to China is increasing by 30% to 50%.
In particular, sincethe Chinese market re-opened, the prices of agricultural products such asdragon fruit, durian, and jackfruit, have soared significantly. Nguyen QuocTrinh, Chairman of Long An Dragon Fruit Association said the price of dragonfruit 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 PhucNguyen assessed that Vietnamese agricultural products are being supported frommany sides. After the visit of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong toChina, in early November 2022, a series of fruit and vegetable export protocolswere signed in favour of Vietnam. In particular, durian and jackfruit are thegroups enjoying the earliest benefit.
Towards sustainable export
It can be seen that the reopening of China has helped the priceof agricultural products increase as the market gradually becomes active again.But experts said businesses should not be too hasty to return to the marketwithout careful preparation, because China now has new and quite strictregulations for imported goods.
Therefore, not only increasing the value of exports, Vietnamneeds to aim at sustainable exports and find ways to retain this important market.
To promote the export of agricultural and aquatic products tothis market of billions of people, Deputy Director of the Asia-Africa MarketDepartment (Ministry of Industry and Trade) To Ngoc Son recommended thatlocalities and management agencies should build development strategies andbuild 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 complywith regulations on quality standards, testing, quarantine, packaging, andtraceability of the Chinese market. Along with that, businesses must focus onbranding and brand protection and carefully study the needs and developmenttrends of the market.
Enterprises also need to take advantage of the Vietnam-Chinarail transport route and promote market exploitation through the form ofe-commerce./.
