Fruit and vegetable exports surpass the record in 2023

In August 2024, Vietnam's fruit and vegetable exports reached USD 844 million, a record high ever achieved in a month.

In September, the above record was broken when the export turnover reached YSD 917 million, an increase of nearly 9% compared to the previous month and an increase of 37% compared to September 2023. Thus, fruit and vegetable exports have set a new record for turnover achieved in 1 month.

In addition, fruit and vegetable exports have officially surpassed the record for turnover in a year. Specifically, according to the General Department of Customs, with strong growth in each month, in the first 9 months of 2024, Vietnam's fruit and vegetable export turnover reached USD 5.64 billion, an increase of 34% over the same period last year and surpassing the export record achieved in the whole year of 2023 of USD 5.6 billion.

The Import-Export Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade) stated that the continuous record-setting of fruit and vegetable exports is mainly due to the contribution of durian exports to the Chinese market. This year, Vietnam's durian exports to all markets are expected to reach USD 3.5 billion, mainly exported to China.

In addition, there are also contributions from essential fruits and vegetables such as bananas, jackfruit, mango, watermelon, lemon, passion fruit, nuts, etc. Chinese consumers are increasingly favoring durian, bananas, lychees, longans, jackfruit, mango, and watermelon from Vietnam, thanks to tropical fruits' quality and characteristic flavor. Therefore, in addition to dragon fruit, some Vietnamese fruits account for the largest market share in imports to China, typically bananas.

According to the Chinese Customs, in the first 8 months of 2024, Vietnam was the largest source of bananas for China, with imports from Vietnam reaching 460 thousand tons, worth USD 190 million, up 20% in volume and 0.8% in value over the same period last year. Vietnam's banana market share in China's total imports increased from 31.33% in the first 8 months of 2023 to 40.71% in the first 8 months of 2024.

The subjective reason is that Vietnamese bananas are increasingly improving in design and quality, meeting consumer tastes in China. In addition, having banana varieties that are resistant to Panama wilt disease is also helping the Vietnamese banana industry stabilize output and quality. Logistics costs are also a competitive advantage of Vietnamese bananas compared to other suppliers, especially when transport and logistics infrastructure are being increasingly invested in. These are essential factors for Vietnamese bananas to account for nearly 50% of the market share of bananas imported into China since the beginning of the year.

With strong growth in durian exports and many other fruits to the Chinese market, in the past 9 months, fruit and vegetable exports to China have reached USD 3.8 billion, higher than the export turnover to this market in the whole year of 2023 (USD 3.6 billion).

2023 is the year when Vietnam's fruit and vegetable export turnover to China is the highest ever. Therefore, having surpassed the record of 2023 after only 9 months, in the whole year of 2024, Vietnam's fruit and vegetable export to China will set a new record in turnover, which according to the forecast of Dang Phuc Nguyen, General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association (Vinafruit), could exceed the USD 5 billion.

In addition to the Chinese market, Vietnam's fruits and vegetables are increasingly exported to markets such as the United States, South Korea, etc. In general, in the first 9 months of 2024, Vietnam's fruit and vegetable export turnover to most major markets grew positively: the United States increased by 35%; South Korea increased by 44%; Japan increased by 12%; Taiwan increased by 11%; Australia increased by 31%; UAE increased by 30%; Canada increased by 44% …

The Import-Export Department forecasts that Vietnam's fruit and vegetable exports will continue to grow in the last months of the year due to seasonal factors. With high market demand in the last months of the year, and just maintaining the high export turnover as in the past 2 months (over USD 900 million per month), fruit and vegetable exports in the fourth quarter can completely reach over USD 2 billion, thereby bringing the whole year 2024 export to exceed the USD 7 billion for the first time.

If the above turnover is achieved, fruit and vegetable exports will far exceed other key agricultural products such as coffee, rice, cashew nuts, pepper … Because among the remaining agricultural products, coffee and rice are forecast to reach the highest turnover, about more than USD 5 billion this year.