The South expected to have 1.2 million tons of key force fruits in the second quarter

Mr. Le Thanh Tung, Deputy Director of the Department of Crop Production under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, estimated that the output of eight major fruits in the second quarter (Q2) is 1.2 million tons, including dragon fruit, banana, mango, jackfruit, pomelo, orange, pineapple, and durian.

In Q2, banana harvests totaled 277.2 thousand tons, with production concentrated in the provinces of Dong Nai, Tra Vinh, and Soc Trang. Following that is mango, which produces 147 thousand tons and is grown mostly in three Mekong Delta provinces: An Giang, Dong Thap, and Tien Giang. Dragon fruit is the third most-produced fruit in the region, with 144.6 thousand tons in Long An and Tien Giang.

Fourth place goes to pineapple, which is harvested mostly in Tien Giang, Kien Giang, and Hau Giang. Jackfruit is ranked fifth in terms of harvestable yield, with 141.7 thousand tons (Tien Giang, Hau Giang). Durian comes in sixth with 141.5 thousand tons (Tien Giang, Dong Nai); oranges come in seventh with 107.3 thousand tons (Hau Giang, Vinh Long); and pomelo comes in eighth with 88.1 thousand tons (Tien Giang, Ben Tre, Dong Nai).

According to the Department of Crop Production's report, the area of fruit trees in the Mekong Delta alone has increased continuously from 2010 to 2020; in 2010, the region's total area of fruit trees was 287.3 thousand hectares; by 2020, it increased to 377.7 thousand hectares, an increase of 90.4 thousand hectares.

For the area of each main fruit in Mekong Delta, by 2020, except for the longan tree, the area decreased by 9.1 thousand ha against 2010; areas of other main force fruit trees increased significantly. In detail, dragon fruit expanded by 22.8 thousand hectares; durian enlarged by 20.1 thousand hectares; pineapple grown by 6.7 thousand hectares; mango expanded by 2.9 thousand hectares; pomelo increased by 4.2 thousand hectares; bananas increased by 38.1 thousand hectares; rambutan enlarged by 2.1 thousand hectares, and jackfruit expanded by 30,000 hectares.

Farmers are now pushing the production of a variety of popular fruits in the South, including durian, mango, rambutan, longan, pomelo, orange, jackfruit, avocado, banana, lemon, and sugar apple... through the establishment of several concentrated production areas. Dragon fruit is grown in Long An, Tien Giang, and Dong Nai; mango is grown in Dong Thap, An Giang, Vinh Long, and Dong Nai; durian is grown in Can Tho city and the provinces of Tien Giang, Vinh Long, Dong Nai, Binh Phuoc, and Tay Ninh; longan is grown in Vinh Long, Dong Thap, Tay Ninh, and Can Tho; pomelos are grown in Ben Tre and Vinh Long provinces; jackfruit in Tien Giang, Hau Giang, and Dong Nai; sugar apple in Tien Giang, Tay Ninh; lemon in Long An province.

According to the Agency of Foreign Trade (Ministry of Industry and Trade), five of the South's eight major force fruits are included in the Vietnamese fresh fruit group with the highest export turnover, namely dragon fruit, mango, banana, durian, and jackfruit. Vietnam's dragon fruit exports reached USD 933 million in the first 11 months of 2021, mango shipments reached USD 245 million, banana exports reached USD 218 million, durian exports reached USD 167 million, and jackfruit exports reached USD 160 million.

Additionally, a variety of other fruit trees with a high export turnover of fresh fruit, such as coconut, lemon, and watermelon, are widely planted in the South. In addition to the processed fruits and vegetables that account for the majority of the country's exports, the south is home to three popular fruit trees: coconut, pineapple, and mango.

Vietnam is the region's only developing country to have signed a free trade deal with the EU. After the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) takes effect, the tax rate on some vegetables and fruits exported from Vietnam to the EU will be zero percent, providing a significant economic advantage over other nations in the area.

According to the Agency of Foreign Trade (Ministry of Industry and Trade), fruit is one of the prospective exports that Vietnam should focus on to maximize the benefits of the EVFTA Agreement.