Illustrative image (Source: Vietnambiz.vn) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Vietnam hasexported its fruits to high-standard markets in recent years, such asthe US, the European Union and Japan, but increasing export volume isnot an easy task.
Vietnamese fruits face competition in quality,design and price with fruits from other exporting countries, according toexperts.
For instance, Vietnam exports six kinds of freshfruits to the US, including lychee, longan, rambutan, dragon fruits, star appleand mango, but those have occupied a very small market share at about 3 percentof total US fruit imports.
According to experts, the low export volume isdue to high costs of transport, preservation, quarantine and irradiationtreatment for Vietnamese fresh fruits, reducing their competitiveness.
Therefore, to expand market share in the comingtime, Vietnam should focus on processed products such as juice, dried andcanned products, and especially organic products.
Vietnamese fruits meeting internationalstandards required at least five years of negotiation to enterthe US market, according to Dao Tran Nhan, former Counselor of theVietnam Trade Office in the US. Moreover, the US has requiredVietnamese companies to pay for irradiation treatment for their fruit beforeshipping to the market, forcing Vietnamese fruit exporters to charge highprices in the US.
In addition, any shipment of local fresh fruitsto the US must indicate the area in which the fruits was plantedaccording to the code agreed on by the two parties. This is a hurdle becauseVietnamese fruits are often planted on a small scale and tracking their originsis challenging.
Vietnam’s fruit products have been exported tothe EU market but only at a small volume due to competition in price, qualityand delivery time with fruits from countries located closer to the EU such asBrazil, Peru, Ecuador and Panama, and from regional rivals such as Thailand,the Philippines and Malaysia.
Meanwhile, the EU has regularly reviewed andadjusted food safety regulations as well as increased the frequency ofinspections for Vietnamese vegetables and fruit because many batches have notmet EU regulations. Those are disadvantage for efforts to increase the exportvolume to this market, according to the experts.
Vietnamese fruits face competition in quality,design and price with fruits from other exporting countries, according toexperts.
For instance, Vietnam exports six kinds of freshfruits to the US, including lychee, longan, rambutan, dragon fruits, star appleand mango, but those have occupied a very small market share at about 3 percentof total US fruit imports.
According to experts, the low export volume isdue to high costs of transport, preservation, quarantine and irradiationtreatment for Vietnamese fresh fruits, reducing their competitiveness.
Therefore, to expand market share in the comingtime, Vietnam should focus on processed products such as juice, dried andcanned products, and especially organic products.
Vietnamese fruits meeting internationalstandards required at least five years of negotiation to enterthe US market, according to Dao Tran Nhan, former Counselor of theVietnam Trade Office in the US. Moreover, the US has requiredVietnamese companies to pay for irradiation treatment for their fruit beforeshipping to the market, forcing Vietnamese fruit exporters to charge highprices in the US.
In addition, any shipment of local fresh fruitsto the US must indicate the area in which the fruits was plantedaccording to the code agreed on by the two parties. This is a hurdle becauseVietnamese fruits are often planted on a small scale and tracking their originsis challenging.
Vietnam’s fruit products have been exported tothe EU market but only at a small volume due to competition in price, qualityand delivery time with fruits from countries located closer to the EU such asBrazil, Peru, Ecuador and Panama, and from regional rivals such as Thailand,the Philippines and Malaysia.
Meanwhile, the EU has regularly reviewed andadjusted food safety regulations as well as increased the frequency ofinspections for Vietnamese vegetables and fruit because many batches have notmet EU regulations. Those are disadvantage for efforts to increase the exportvolume to this market, according to the experts.
The Japanese market has increased demand fortropical fresh fruits like bananas, dragon fruits, mangos and lychees. Vietnam couldpromote exports of dragon fruits due to their good taste and quality, but ithas faced obstacles in enhancing the export volume of other fruit because theyare comparatively expensive.
Nguyen Quoc Toan, acting director of AgroProcessing and Market Development Authority, said fruit and vegetable exportsmay hit a weak patch at the end of this year due to the influence of the rainyseason and reduced output for some kinds of fruits.
The US-China trade war may cut China’sdemand for imported fruits, affecting the exports of Vietnamese fruits andvegetables to this market.
Therefore, businesses need to strengthen linksin the production chain to ensure the quality of fruits and vegetables forexport.
To link production chains, Nguyen Dinh Tung,general director of Vina T&T, said the businesses should convince farmersto cooperate with them and plant fruit trees in accordance with internationalstandards.
In addition, the company must develop theprocess of harvesting, packaging and transport, especially the preservation technologythat maintains the fruit quality until it reaches the consumer, he said.
Processing is an indispensable way to bringVietnamese fruits to the world market and solve obstacles such as post-harvestpreservation, price reduction due to over-supply and technical barriers inimport markets.
The enterprises must maintain export marketsthat they have entered already. To do so, they must have production chains thatensure good quality, abundant quantity and competitive price.
On the other hand, to compete with fruit ofother countries in demanding markets, enterprises have proposed the Governmentinvest in cold storage, packaging facilities and irradiated facilities,reducing firms’ expenditures for exporting.
At the same time, the Plant Protection Departmentor the local authorities should provide information about importers’ qualitystandards for farmers.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture andRural Development, Vietnam’s exports of fruits and vegetables in the firstseven months of this year were valued at 2.3 billion USD, an increase of 12.6 percent. China wasthe largest export market of Vietnamese vegetables and fruits, consuming 74 percentof the total national vegetable and fruit exports.-VNS/VNA
Nguyen Quoc Toan, acting director of AgroProcessing and Market Development Authority, said fruit and vegetable exportsmay hit a weak patch at the end of this year due to the influence of the rainyseason and reduced output for some kinds of fruits.
The US-China trade war may cut China’sdemand for imported fruits, affecting the exports of Vietnamese fruits andvegetables to this market.
Therefore, businesses need to strengthen linksin the production chain to ensure the quality of fruits and vegetables forexport.
To link production chains, Nguyen Dinh Tung,general director of Vina T&T, said the businesses should convince farmersto cooperate with them and plant fruit trees in accordance with internationalstandards.
In addition, the company must develop theprocess of harvesting, packaging and transport, especially the preservation technologythat maintains the fruit quality until it reaches the consumer, he said.
Processing is an indispensable way to bringVietnamese fruits to the world market and solve obstacles such as post-harvestpreservation, price reduction due to over-supply and technical barriers inimport markets.
The enterprises must maintain export marketsthat they have entered already. To do so, they must have production chains thatensure good quality, abundant quantity and competitive price.
On the other hand, to compete with fruit ofother countries in demanding markets, enterprises have proposed the Governmentinvest in cold storage, packaging facilities and irradiated facilities,reducing firms’ expenditures for exporting.
At the same time, the Plant Protection Departmentor the local authorities should provide information about importers’ qualitystandards for farmers.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture andRural Development, Vietnam’s exports of fruits and vegetables in the firstseven months of this year were valued at 2.3 billion USD, an increase of 12.6 percent. China wasthe largest export market of Vietnamese vegetables and fruits, consuming 74 percentof the total national vegetable and fruit exports.-VNS/VNA
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