Đặng Phúc Nguyên, General Secretary of the Việt Nam Fruit and Vegetable Association

The fruit and vegetable export is poised to reach new heights this year after recording a whopping rise of 70 per cent to set a record of US$5.69 billion in 2023. Đặng Phúc Nguyên, General Secretary of the Việt Nam Fruit and Vegetable Association, spoke with Việt Nam News reporter Mai Linh about export prospects and how Việt Nam can become a fruit and vegetable export powerhouse.

After a successful year in 2023, what are your forecasts for fruit and vegetable exports this year?

The fruit and vegetable industry was like a compressed spring during three years of COVID-19 which has sprung strongly since China reopened its market in 2023.

Exports recovered strongly to set a new record of more than $5.6 billion last year.

The notable point is that farmers, cooperatives and enterprises in Việt Nam have made remarkable improvements in both quantity and quality to meet the requirements of import markets to achieve such export revenue.

This demonstrates that Việt Nam’s fruit and vegetable exports are making significant breakthroughs. With a favourable geographical location near China, a large consumption market and a diversity of fruits all year round, I believe there are bright prospects ahead.

In 2024, exports will continue to grow at around 15-20 per cent to set a new record of at least $6.5 billion and even $7 billion if more markets are opened.

Exports in the first two months of this year is estimated at nearly $815 million, up 40 per cent over the same period last year. Despite a drop of 41.5 per cent in February over the previous month due to Tết (Lunar New Year) holidays, the export will return to normal in March.

What are the grounds for such optimistic forecasts?

Efforts to open markets for fruits and vegetables, especially the signing of protocols with China, which pays the way for official exports, are promoting exports.

Taking durian is an example. Durian became the top export fruit of Việt Nam with a revenue of $2.2 billion in 2023, or nearly 40 per cent of the country’s total fruit and vegetable exports and jumping five times against 2022.

This is because China opened its official export of fresh durian to this huge market of 1.4 billion people in July 2022.

If a protocol on exporting frozen into China is signed this year, durian exports will be very robust.

The durian export might reach $3.5-4 billion this year, equivalent to or even exceeding the value of rice exports.

Negotiations are underway for many other types of fruits such as coconuts, pomelos and avocados. Currently, Việt Nam’s coconut export stays at around $200 million per year. If this fruit can enter the Chinese market, the revenue will be two to three times higher.

Can we be optimistic that Việt Nam can become a fruit export powerhouse in the region?

Completely. I think that Việt Nam’s fruit and vegetable export can reach $8 billion in the next two years, equivalent to Thailand, a major exporter in the Southeast Asian region.

The production of Việt Nam is improving remarkably and the gap is being narrowed with Thailand, a country that is nearly 20 years ahead of us in vegetable and fruit growing and processing technology.

Still, greater efforts are needed.

The focus should be on improving the transportation and logistics infrastructure system to facilitate the transport of fruits and vegetables, especially by road to China.

Production should also be reorganised. Farmers and enterprises should cooperate to establish value chains that will help control and enhance quality. Farmers should participate in cooperatives which will make it easier to apply for growing area codes for export expansion as well as access banking credit or participate in farming technique training programmes.

The formation of cooperatives is critical to promote the development of the fruit and vegetable industry.

The fruit and vegetable industry set the goal of achieving an export revenue of $8-10 billion per year. This threshold is within reach, but I think not until 2030 can Việt Nam achieve the goal.

Despite robust exports, Việt Nam lacks established national fruit brands. Can durian become one?

Durian will continue to be a strategic product for the fruit and vegetable industry this year. Durian export is very promising, especially to China, as the growing areas granted codes nearly double and output increased significantly, by at least 20 per cent.

Việt Nam has durian Ri6 of very good taste and quality.

Still, durian has just extended its reach to the international markets for just two years. Building a durian brand will take time, step by step.

What are the most important factors to promote the sustainable export of the fruit and vegetable industry?

In my opinion, the most important factor is to improve plant varieties to create products that can compete in terms of quality and taste with products from other countries.

A clear example of the importance of plant varieties is the success of rice ST24 and ST25.

The improvement of plant varieties remains slow. Many types of plant varieties come from other countries such as Thailand and Malaysia. There are still a few outstanding varieties in Việt Nam.

It is necessary to develop policies to encourage the improvement of plant varieties together with the renovation of farming techniques to create products of the best quality.

Besides, the processing technology should be improved.

A lot of things need to be done to turn Việt Nam into a fruit export powerhouse.

The key to sustainable development will be to establish a linkage with harmonised benefits between farmers, cooperatives, enterprises and scientists.

Another important factor is that the production must strictly comply with the quality requirements of import markets to build brands and export sustainably. — VNS