Fruit and veg export value ripe for record this year: association

Vietnam's export value of fruit and vegetables in September reached $667.5 million, up 165% year-on-year, and will continue to increase in the coming months, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

In the first nine months of 2023, fruit and vegetable export turnover reached $4.2 billion, up 72% year-on-year, marking a record high.

The MoIT said that China's reopening of border gates, along with protocols signed by the end of 2022, has been the driving force behind the strong growth of the fruit and vegetable sector.

"In the last three months of 2023, fruit and vegetable exports will continue to grow strongly because this is the holiday season, so consumption demand in many markets will increase, especially the Chinese market,” the ministry added.

In the first nine months, the export value of fruit and vegetables to the Chinese market accounted for 65% of Vietnam's total, reaching $2.8 billion, an increase of 160% over the same period in 2022.

In the top 10 fruit and vegetable export markets, Vietnam, China, South Korea, Japan, the Netherlands, and the UAE are names that recorded from two to three-digit growth.

Dang Phuc Nguyen, general secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association (Vinafruit), told The Investor that this year's fruit and vegetable export value will break records and could exceed $5.5 billion.

Next year, turnover could be higher because some products that have been approved by other countries have yet to be exported, such as grapefruit and coconuts, so the export value could exceed $6 billion.