Vietnam’s Fruit Industry to Receive Good News
According to the Plant Protection Department (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), by 2025, Vietnamese passion fruit is expected to be officially licensed for export to the U.S. market. This achievement comes after negotiations between Vietnam and the United States on plant quarantine measures for this fruit.
The technical negotiation process has been completed, and both sides are now finalizing the necessary legal procedures. The entry of passion fruit into the U.S. market is expected to provide a strong boost for Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable sector to further expand exports, especially to other demanding markets.
Earlier, on September 9, the Plant Protection Department and the Australian Embassy in Vietnam held a ceremony to announce the export of Vietnamese passion fruit to Australia and the export of Australian plums to Vietnam.
Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Andrew Goledzinowski said this marks a new milestone in bilateral cooperation, particularly in agriculture. After mango, longan, lychee, and dragon fruit, passion fruit has become the fifth fresh Vietnamese fruit officially exported to Australia.
Since the beginning of the year, fruits and vegetables have recorded some of the highest growth rates among Vietnam’s agricultural exports. Surpassing the early-year forecast of USD 6 billion, this year’s fruit and vegetable exports are projected to set a new record of USD 7.2 billion.
For 2025, with many favorable factors, Vietnam’s fruit industry aims to earn at least USD 8 billion. Achieving this target would place the country among the world’s top five fruit exporters.
Dang Phuc Nguyen, General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, shared: “In 2022, fruit and vegetable exports totaled only USD 3.3 billion. Last year, we hit a record USD 5.6 billion, and this year we expect between USD 7.1 and 7.2 billion.”
In the first 11 months of this year, Vietnam’s 10 largest fruit and vegetable markets all posted impressive growth. Thailand surged nearly 80%, while South Korea, Russia, the U.S., and Middle Eastern markets rose by 36–40%.
Market expansion through free trade agreements and successful negotiations to open more fruit categories have strengthened Vietnam’s confidence in next year’s target.
Durian topped the export list with an estimated value of USD 3.3 billion. Dragon fruit ranked second at around USD 435 million, though it saw a decline from last year as Chinese imports dropped by 40% in 2024. Bananas, mangoes, jackfruit, coconuts, and watermelons followed.
Record hopes for 2025
Nguyen expects that with this year’s USD 7.2 billion in exports, Vietnam could reach USD 8 billion in 2025. New growth drivers include frozen durian, fresh coconuts exported to China, passion fruit exports to the U.S. (pending negotiations), and the introduction of new fruit products to the market.
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Durian – A bright spot in Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable export picture In addition to durian, products such as passion fruit, pomelo, fresh coconut, and frozen durian are newly opened to export markets. However, enterprises are still struggling with obtaining planting area codes, packing facility codes, and establishing relationships with foreign partners. In other words, businesses are still in the preparation stage. Some items, like pomelo and coconut, have made their first export shipments but in limited quantities. Next year, these products are expected to fully capitalize on their advantages. Nguyen Phong Phu, Technical Director of Vina T&T Group, said that fruit and vegetable processing and exporting companies are facing a major opportunity to increase export turnover. The reason is that global demand for these goods is growing, while Vietnam is making great progress in opening markets. With the official signing of the phytosanitary and food safety protocol for frozen durian exports from Vietnam to China, and the phytosanitary protocol for fresh coconut exports to China, major market doors have opened for these two key products of the fruit and vegetable sector. In addition, the quality of Vietnamese fruits is increasingly improving, meeting the standards required by importing countries, thereby enhancing competitiveness in high-quality markets. At the end of November, at the Phu Huu A Industrial Cluster (Mai Dam Town, Chau Thanh District, Hau Giang Province), Hanh Nguyen Logistics Joint Stock Company inaugurated an agricultural irradiation plant with a capacity of 1,000 tons of products per day and night. Along with the irradiation system, Hanh Nguyen Logistics has also upgraded its cold storage capacity to 23,000 pallets, and now provides pre-processing, processing, freezing, and packaging services that meet international standards such as HACCP and FSSC 22000, thereby enhancing the quality of agricultural products, including export fruits and vegetables. Dao Trong Khoa, Chairman of the Vietnam Logistics Business Association, said that agricultural, forestry, and fishery exports in 2024 are expected to reach USD 62 billion. This includes contributions from Hanh Nguyen Logistics, which has pioneered in irradiation technology, cold storage, and one-stop multi-service solutions, serving as a bridge to bring agricultural products to the world. However, fruit and vegetable exports are also facing difficulties as many countries tighten inspections of imported goods. Recently, the Vietnam SPS Office (under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) issued a notice to the Plant Protection Department and the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association regarding amendments to Regulation (EU) 2019/1793, which temporarily increases official control and emergency measures for certain goods from some third countries entering the EU. Accordingly, for Vietnamese durian, the EU has temporarily increased the inspection frequency at the border from 10% to 20%. The reason is non-compliance with regulations on pesticide residue levels. EU authorities have found high levels of pesticide residues in Vietnamese durian, such as Carbendazim, Fipronil, Azoxystrobin, Dimethomorph, Metalaxyl, Lambda-cyhalothrin, and Acetamiprid. The EU sets maximum residue limits (MRLs) for these substances between 0.005 and 0.1 mg/kg, depending on the compound. For dragon fruit, chili, and okra, the EU has maintained the same inspection frequency at the border: dragon fruit at 30%, chili and okra both at 50%. These three products must be accompanied by pesticide residue analysis results when imported into the EU. Experts believe that, in addition to meeting quality standards, businesses need to promote processing, especially deep processing, to increase added value and reduce seasonal risks associated with fresh exports. Currently, the proportion of fresh fruits and vegetables processed is still small, while annual harvest volumes are large. This is one of the main reasons why Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable exports still account for a small share in markets with high demand for processed products, such as Europe, the U.S., and South Korea. |
