Durian export protocol extremely fruitful for Vietnam: VinaFruit executive

In the first seven months of the year, vegetable and fruit exports reached nearly $3.3 billion, exceeding the 2022 figure of $3.2 billion. What are the driving forces behind this growth?

In July 2022, Vietnam signed an important protocol on exporting durians to China, opening a big door for exporting this fruit to the neighboring country. In the fourth quarter of 2022, fruit export turnover increased strongly.

On January 8, 2023, China opened its borders wider, abandoning Covid-19 restrictions, and fruit and vegetable exports began to accelerate. Vietnam also exports other fruits to China, including bananas and sweet potatoes. Besides, exports to several other markets like the Netherlands, South Korea and Malaysia have also increased and contributed to the seven-month growth.

The export of fruits and vegetables to countries like China, the Netherlands and South Korea has increased, but decreased to the U.S. How has this happened?

Accounting for roughly 66% of all fruit and vegetable exports in the last seven months, China plays an important role. During this period, exports to the Netherlands went up 67% year-on-year to $78.4 million. The reason is that the quality of Vietnam's fruit and vegetable products are getting better and better. With improved processing, Vietnamese products are being favored in the Netherlands.

South Korea is another good export market with a turnover of $106.2 million in the first seven months, up 12% year-on-year. The East Asia nation enjoys a high GDP per capita and demand for high-quality goods is high. Companies that export to South Korea understand the country's requirements, so they have improved product quality accordingly. The strengthening of bilateral ties has also been an export boost to the market.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is another potential market for us. In the period, fruit export turnover to the country was worth $32.2 million, up 26% year-on-year. From the UAE, Vietnamese products can spread in the Middle East region. The UAE is mostly dessert, so it is hard to cultivate fruits and vegetables there. Each year, the UAE imports about $60-70 million worth of fruits and vegetables from Vietnam, comparable to countries like South Korea and India.

Exports to Malaysia also grew well, going up 24% year-on-year to $28 million in the seven months. The main export product to this market is processed fruit.

Regarding the U.S. market, export turnover decreased by 14% year-on-year to $118 million in Jan-July because South American countries such as Ecuador and Peru have imitated Vietnam in growing fruits like mangoes and dragon fruits. The cost of shipping to the U.S. is much lower for them than for Vietnam. Vietnam can export processed and dried products, but it is difficult to compete against countries surrounding the U.S. in exporting fresh produce to that market.

You said China accounted for 66% of Vietnam's total fruit and vegetable export turnover in the first 7 months. What does Vietnam need to do to take further advantage of this opportunity?

Vietnam is close to China, so the shipping time is less than other countries, which is a great advantage for us. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has said that in 2025, Vietnam will have a highway running from the North to the South. Good infrastructure will create favorable conditions for more vegetables and fruits to be exported to China.

Mekong Delta provinces produce about 60% of Vietnam's fruits. With a good transportation system from there to the border, we can boost exports to China.

Durian exports were worth approximately $900 million in the first six months, surpassing $832 million for the entire 2022. Can you give us a guess about the export turnover of durians for 2023?

As you noted, durian export turnover in the first six months exceeded the whole of last year. It could have gone past $1 billion in the first seven months. By the end of this year, durian export turnover can reach $1.5 billion or more.

What are the advantages that Vietnamese durians have and what are shortcomings that have to be overcome?

The taste of Vietnam's durians is not as good as that of Thailand's. However, the price is cheaper because of lower shipping costs. The price of Vietnamese durians is around VND70,000-90,000 ($3-3.8) per kg, compared to VND150,000-160,000 ($6.33-6.8) for Thai fruit. The reason is that it takes just 1.5 days to ship the fruit from Vietnam, while it takes seven days from Thailand.

However, Thailand has been exporting durians to China for more than 10 years and Chinese consumers are familiar with the taste of Thai durians. Thai and Malay have good cultivars. When it comes to durians, people think of Thailand's Mon Thong and Malaysia's Musang King varieties.

What should Vietnam do to take full advantage of China's post-Covid opening?

Thailand is now going deep into processing and Vietnam's processing level is not as good as Thailand's so we should increase fresh fruit exports to China. Furthermore, Vietnam must tighten regulations to avoid plant quarantine violations and planting area code fraud. Vietnam should also avoid harvesting durians that are not ripe enough, affecting product quality. Many durian pickers here are inexperienced and cannot discern between ripe and green fruits.

What are your fruit export expectations from now until the end of the year?

Consuming certified fruits and vegetables is a contemporary trend as customers become more health-conscious. So we have to tap that trend better. As I said earlier, fruit and vegetable exports could reach $5 billion this year, with durian accounting for one-third of that total.