A dragon fruit farm in Vietnam (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) - Several fruits grown in Vietnam have successfully entered high-value, challenging markets. The country constantly seeks ways to beef up its economic power via fruit exports, claimed Malaysian newswire thestar.com.my.
In a recent article titled "Vietnam is on a quest to turn into an economic power with its burgeoning fruit exports", the media outlet noted that about half a century ago, Vietnamese families could only dream of having sufficient food to eat, facing serious malnutrition. Therefore, it may be unthinkable for some of them that one day, people will be able to sufficiently provide for themselves with nutritious, tasty and safe food.
The Southeast Asian nation earned nearly 2 billion USD from fruit and vegetable exports in the first seven months of this year.
China has been Vietnam's largest importer for years. Although shipments to the northern neighbour recently saw a downturn due to its stricter rules on imported food, Vietnamese fruit and vegetables enjoyed strong growth in other major markets such as the US, the Republic of Korea, Japan, and Australia.
Many exporters are turning their eyes to European markets where their products enjoy zero-percent tax rates under the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). These markets are seeing increasing demand for tropical fruit and vegetables.
Data from the General Department of Vietnam Customs shows Vietnam's fruit, and vegetable export turnover to Europe in 2021 hit 303 million USD, up 17.4 percent year-on-year.
Negotiations are also underway for other fresh fruits to enter new markets
To seize opportunities, many localities are preparing growing areas and material sources.
The Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang, Vietnam's largest fruit-growing province, is seeking to expand plantations to help increase farmers' incomes and exports. The province has, in recent years, turned a lot of unproductive rice and other fields into high-value orchards that can adapt to brackish water in rivers and drought.
Similarly, the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai has made passion fruit one of its four key ones. It plans to increase its plantations under the fruit to 20,000ha by 2025, surging five-fold from the current area.
To ensure the sustainability of fruit exports and further penetrate into traditional and even high-end markets, safe production will be a vital factor, which will amplify the country's agricultural strengths to reinforce its position as one of the world's major fresh fruit exporters.
In 2021, after pesticide residue excessing permitted level was detected in several batches of Vietnamese durians, Japan increased inspections of the fruit imported from Vietnam, making it more difficult for it to reach the Japanese market.
Other demanding markets, such as the US and European countries, insist on Global Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) compliance and a strict chemical residue threshold for Vietnamese durian. This can cause significant losses for farmers and fruit exporters, as well as the economy and reputation of Vietnam.
The additional effort, time and budget are needed to follow safe production regulations. However, it added that it would be more difficult to regain the trust of export markets if standards are not met.
The World Bank report on Food Safety Imperatives also pointed out that countries with high food safety incidents may suffer from huge economic losses and lose out on global trade opportunities.
Vietnam has been exporting dragon fruit, mango, lychee, longan, rambutan, and star apple to the US.
For the Japanese market, Vietnam has also shipped three fresh fruits: dragon fruit, mango, and lychee. In addition, the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is negotiating with the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to export longan by cold treatment, which is in the final experimental stage. This measure is expected to lay a foundation for the export of other Vietnamese fruits./.
