Vegetable exports reach nearly 190 billion vnd per day

Vegetable exports continue to be an impressive bright spot in the export activities of the first two months of 2017 in Vietnam with a high growth of double-digit, bringing the amount of nearly 190 billion vnd per day.

The Tan Thanh border gate - exporting point of vegetables in fruits to China. Photo: Thai Binh.

73% of vegetable exports to China

According to the latest statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customs, by 15th April 2017, the total value of fruit and vegetable exports reached $US 857 million, an increase of nearly 30% compared to the same period in 2016 (reaching $US 661 million), equivalent to an increase of $US 196 million.

Thus, on average, each day vegetable exports brought about $US 8.2 million, equivalent to the amount of nearly 190 billion vnd per day.

As a result, vegetables and fruits continue to maintain the third largest commodity exports in agricultural and aquatic products in Vietnam (after seafood and coffee).

Notably, vegetables and fruits had a stronger growth rate than seafood (only 7.8%) and coffee (21%). Thus, the difference between vegetables and the two above commodity groups was narrowed down.

Regarding the export market, Vietnamese vegetables have been exported to many countries and regions in the world such as Asia, Europe, and America. In particular, there have been many markets requiring high quality such as the United States, Japan, Australia, South Korea and European countries such as Germany and Netherlands.

However, the biggest market of Vietnamese vegetables and fruits was still China. According to the latest statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customs, exported fruits and vegetables to China reached $US 512 million, accounting for 73% of the total export value of this commodity in the same period.

At the local border near China, the area of exported vegetables and fruits were concentrated mainly at Tan Thanh border gate area (Lang Son) and Lao Cai border gate area.

Diversifying the market

Regarding the results on the export of vegetables recently, on 24th April 2017, speaking to a reporter of the Customs Newspaper, Dr. Nguyen Huu Dat – the executive of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association (VINAFRUIT) said that the results of fruit and vegetable exports were very positive.

According to Dr. Nguyen Huu Dat, the fruit and vegetable exports have been increasingly flourishing for many reasons.

Firstly, the trade promotion and market expansion by State management agencies have been creating positive results. As a result, Vietnamese vegetables and fruits have started to promote in the fastidious markets such as the United States, Japan, South Korea or EU countries.

"Although the value of export turnover to these markets is not high, but the export of vegetables to the fastidious markets with a high quality will increase the prestige for Vietnamese vegetables and fruits", Dr. Dat said.

On the other hand, according to Dr. Nguyen Huu Dat, an increase in the demand for fruits and vegetables in the world was an opportunity for export growth of this product in Vietnam now as well as in the coming time.

In particular, an important cause which was emphasized by Dr. Nguyen Huu Dat was the role of scientists, the business community, producers and farmers in the effort to diversify the design and quality, brand promotion for Vietnamese vegetables and fruits.

"Although the fruit and vegetable export businesses have limited financial resources, they have efforts in promoting the brand and seeking the export markets. On the other hand, in the past two years, there has been a close connection among the exporters, the farmers, and the producers. Therefore, the quality and design of the products have been increasingly improved, thereby creating the prestige for Vietnamese vegetables and fruits in the world market", the VINAFRUIT leader said.

In 2016, vegetables and fruits brought $US 2.457 billion, with a growth rate of 33.6% compared to 2015. This was the third largest export commodity in the field of agriculture (after fishery and coffee) and was the second fastest growing commodity group in the total of 45 key export categories which were listed by the General Department of Vietnam Customs (after gemstones, precious metals and products with a growth rate of 44.4%).