Vietnam Fruit Festival will be held in many provinces and cities in China

The organization of the Vietnam Fruit Festival in Beijing is an initiative of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam, aiming to contribute to the implementation and realization of the commitments and political determination of the two countries' senior leaders after the visit to China by General Secretary and President To Lam in August.

Although it was only held for the first time, the festival has attracted and gathered many large enterprises exporting fresh fruits and processed fruit products from Vietnam to display, introduce products, and serve Chinese consumers (most of the fruits present here have been officially exported to the Chinese market).

Sharing about the first Vietnam Fruit Festival that took place on September 29 and 30 in Beijing, China, Vu Ba Phu, Director of the Trade Promotion Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), assessed that this was the first time a national-scale fruit festival of Vietnam was held in a market that consumes the most fruits in the world, with the collaboration of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association and nearly 30 large fruit and vegetable exporting enterprises of Vietnam.

With the theme “Vietnam fruits - Four seasons delicacy,” the Organizing Committee hopes that the event will introduce and promote strongly to businesses and consumers in the Northern China region, where the demand for consumption is very high. Still, there are few conditions to access Vietnamese fruits; about 12 typical tropical fruits, unique in flavor, classy in quality, rich in variety, and nutritious in the use value of Vietnam, have been opened to the Chinese market.

Director Vu Ba Phu said that for a long time, Vietnamese fruits have been exported to China - the primary export market for Vietnamese agricultural products - mainly through border trade, so the export value has fluctuated, and there are many trade risks.

In recent years, the focus on shifting to promote official exports has affected the change in many businesses' thinking and business practices, forcing businesses to focus on innovation and ensuring high-quality requirements of the import market to survive and develop.

This fruit festival motivates Vietnamese enterprises to improve their business methods, improve their products, and supply the market with beautiful designs and outstanding quality to gain appropriate export value, contributing to raising Vietnam's position on the world fruit supply map.

"This fruit festival shows the importance of communication, promoting brands and images of agricultural products in general and fruits in particular directly in target foreign markets. Organizing a large-scale, systematic, and highly professional festival will strongly support attracting the attention and real-life experiences of potential customers and foreign consumers," Vu Ba Phu added.

After the success of the festival, Director Vu Ba Phu said that the Ministry of Industry and Trade is ready to continue to accompany the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and related industry associations to organize a variety of specialized and thematic product festivals in the Chinese market and potential export markets, strengths of Vietnam in the coming time.

"In particular, for fruits and processed fruit products, festivals will be held in different provinces and cities of China, especially in the northern region and inland areas of this country, where Vietnamese fruits are not yet well known or have little consumption," added Director Vu Ba Phu.

With an annual output of 12-14 million tons, Vietnamese fruit products meet domestic consumption needs and serve exports with a turnover of nearly USD 3.5 billion annually. Besides fresh fruit, Vietnam also exports many processed fruit products, such as dried fruit, frozen fruit, fruit jam, pureed vegetables and fruits, fruit juices, etc.

In recent years, the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between Vietnam and China has been developing very well, bringing practical benefits to both sides; economic and trade cooperation between the two countries has increasingly developed deeply and widely and achieved many significant and positive results despite the global economic downturn.

China has continuously maintained its position as Vietnam's largest trading partner, and Vietnam is currently China's largest trading partner in ASEAN and fifth in the world; in terms of supplying fruits and fruit products, Vietnam is China's third largest partner in the world (after Thailand and Chile) with many products having a solid position and being favored by Chinese consumers.