The market for canned fruit products would present an opportunity to boost Vietnamese agricultural product consumption but domestic producers have long neglected this market due to various reasons.

Surveys conducted at supermarkets in Hanoi including Big C, Co.opmart, Lotte and Fivimart showed that canned fruit products are sold for about 40,000 VND to 50,000 VND (1.9-2.4 USD) per 500-gram can.

Fivimart’s representative Vu Thi Hau said the low purchase rate is due to Vietnam’s abundant fruit supply and consumer preference of fresh fruit over canned options, coupled with hesitations to purchase products with preservatives over their potential negative health effects.

According to an online seminar on the export of Vietnamese agricultural products held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) last week, reasons for slowing consumption of canned products in domestic market are unstable supply depending on seasons, undiversified and low-quality products not meeting export standards and insufficient capital.

Deputy Director of Import-Export Department under the MoIT Phan Thi Dieu Ha said international markets including Europe, Russia and Republic of Korea have high demand for canned fruit products but a limited number of Vietnamese products meet import requirements. She recommended enterprises employ advanced processing technologies to meet international standards.

The government should introduce preferential policies for enterprises such as credit loans to assist them in expanding their business and reducing price while enterprises should intensify promotion activities to improve consumption and support the campaign “Vietnamese give priority to use Vietnam’s goods” she added.-VNA