Improving Vietnamese businesses' capacity in exporting durian and passion fruit

The Department of Asia-Africa Market under Ministry of Industry, Dak Lak Department of Industry and Trade and the Project to support regional economic cooperation in Asia held an international workshop on the morning of August 26 with the aim to improve capacity in entering Chinese market for Vietnamese durian and passion fruit exporters.

Fresh Vietnamese passion fruit and durian are officially imported to China as regulated by the General Administration of Customs of China. This is an opportunity as well as a challenge for Vietnamese businesses and manufacturers.

Mr. Huynh Ngoc Duong, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Dak Lak province said that the locality has over 15,000 hectares of durian (accounting for 35% of the province's fruit tree area) with an estimated output of over 170,000 tons; Passion fruit trees currently occupy 1,055 hectares with an output of over 15,000 tons.

According to Mr. Duong, the General Administration of Customs of China agreed to pilot the import of Vietnamese passion fruit through 7 border gates in Guangxi province in early July 2022. Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the General Administration of Customs of China signed a Protocol on July 11 regarding the phytosanitary requirements for durians exported from Vietnam to China. This is an opportunity for Vietnamese durian and passion fruit products to enter the potential Chinese market.

The workshop will be an opportunity for experts to provide information on the potentials and needs of the Chinese market as well as important issues when exporting fresh and processed fruits to China.

“Issues regarding opportunities and challenges for export agricultural products, technical regulations on design, food safety and hygiene, etc. of durian and passion fruit to the Chinese market will be addressed at the workshop. The workshop will provide information on market developments, especially information on the trade situation of the northern border as well as information required by Chinese businesses in importing durian and passion fruit.

We hope that through this workshop, businesses will understand and grasp information about the Chinese durian and passion fruit market. Consequently, there will be a plan to seize the initiative in product resource capacity, improve competitiveness, ensure product quality and so on. This will help farmers sell all of their products, and put an end to agricultural production without regards to information about the market", said Mr. Duong.

Mr. To Ngoc Son, Deputy Director of the Department of Asia-Africa Market under Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that China is the world's largest consumer of durian, with an annual export turnover of at least double digits. Durian is also ranked first in the sales of fruit imported into this country.

China's durian import turnover in 2021 was estimated at 822 thousand tons and reached 4.21 billion USD. Before Vietnam was officially accepted, China only allowed Thailand to export fresh durians to this country. Passion fruit is currently the third most consumed fruit on Chinese e-commerce platforms.

In addition, with the rapid development of the new-style tea and beverage market, the demand for passion fruit products is on the rapid rise. Vietnam is currently considered to be the largest supplier of passion fruit juice to China with an estimated export turnover of 34 million USD.

The fact that China allows the export of these two types of fruit is a great opportunity for producers and businesses. It is important for Vietnamese producers and businesses to seize the opportunity to be able to meet the demand of Chinese consumers.

Therefore, the workshop will provide accurate information on market demand, guide production households to prepare technical conditions and standards to meet the requirements of the Chinese market.

Dr. Le Thanh Hoa, Director of Vietnam SPS, said that China currently imposes strict inspection on imported goods. If businesses fail to meet their requirements, the Chinese side will prohibit imports.

China has recently issued Order No. 248 and 249 on the requirement to issue export planting area codes for all agricultural products entering the country. When establishing the planting area code, it is necessary to comply with the regulations of the Chinese side. Businesses should be honest to earn honest income, avoid cheating to face the risk of suspension.

“China has moved to monitor the chain from production to consumers. China is currently following the Zero Covid policy, so they monitor and manage imports very closely. China checks for Covid on packaging and transportation of frozen food. As a result, durian and passion fruit exports need to meet the requirements of Covid-19 prevention and control", emphasized Mr. Hoa.

According to Mr. Hoa, to ensure favorable export, producers and businesses need to improve their capacity and awareness in grasping the technical regulations and SPS requirements of the market; Raise awareness and perception - moving from quantity to quality, product safety and ensuring that food safety regulations are met; Establish a cooperation mechanism between management agencies - businesses - producers to ensure that the entire supply chain as well as products meet food safety quality; Apply good production processes such as VietGAP, GlobalGAP in harmony with certification standards required by the market; Standardize the production processes to ensure food safety and raw materials for fresh and processing; Invest in the production of high quality products including specialty products, geographical indications, organic products.