Increasing demands for Vietnamese dragon fruit in foreign market

Vietnam's dragon fruit industry has faced many challenges from production to consumption as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, although demands for this fruit in other countries remain strong.

Demand for Vietnamese dragon fruit remains strong in many markets. Photo: TL.

On August 30-31, at the Ministry of Industry and Trade's (MoIT) virtual webinar on Vietnam's dragon fruit for the potential export market in 2021, Director Vu Ba Phu of the Department of Trade Promotion addressed some of the challenges that dragon fruit is facing. 

Certain dragon fruit planting regions in many South Central and Southern provinces are being adversely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, which is wreaking havoc on the production, harvesting, and consumption of a wide variety of agricultural goods including dragon fruit.

China, Vietnam's primary export market, is tightening quarantines for a variety of products, including dragon fruits, or suspending operations at some border crossings for a certain period of time. As a result, logistical costs have increased significantly. 

However, demand for Vietnamese dragon fruit continues to grow in the international market. Through a series of online trade exchange events in agricultural goods and foods organized by Viettrade, overseas Vietnamese trade offices and associated organizations, it has been shown that many international importers are interested in expanding the supply of high-quality dragon fruit from Vietnam.

Phu noted that dragon fruit is one of Vietnam's top export fruits and is also included in the country's billion-dollar export goods.

China (which accounts for more than 80% of Vietnamese dragon fruit exports), Thailand, and Indonesia are the primary export destinations. Vietnamese dragon fruit has also been sold to a variety of other markets, including the United States, India, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the European Union, and Chile.

Vietnamese dragon fruit has historically commanded a significant export market share in markets such as Asia, Europe, and the United States. However, in recent years, Vietnamese dragon fruit has been under increased pressure from a variety of foreign producers, including Taiwan, Thailand, and Malaysia.