According to information from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in May 2023 alone, fruit and vegetable exports helped our country earn 600 million USD, an increase of 53.3% compared to April 2023 and a sudden increase of 137.7% compared to May 2022.

By the end of May 2023, the export value of fruits and vegetables is estimated at 1.97 billion USD, up 39% over the same period last year. Notably, while many agricultural export products have decreased sharply, the fruit and vegetable industry continues to record strong export growth, second only to rice.

According to the Import-Export Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), most types of exported fruits and vegetables recorded good growth rates in the first 4 months of 2023.

Leading in export value is fruit, reaching 920.7 million USD, up 15.7% over the same period in 2022.

In the structure of main export fruit categories, only dragon fruit and banana recorded negative growth in the first 4 months of 2023. In contrast, other main export fruits recorded double-digit growth rates. In particular, the export value of durian reached 190.5 million USD, a sharp increase of 573.1% over the same period in 2022.

Durian is mainly exported to the Chinese market, accounting for 84.3% of the total export value of this fruit. Notably, the quantity of durian exported to China increased after the two countries signed an official export protocol.

At the end of May, the number of vehicles carrying goods to Huu Nghi international border gate increased dramatically because Vietnamese durian exports were in harvest season. However, this item can only be exported through the international border gate, causing congestion to recur.

The Department of Industry and Trade of Lang Son province had to send an official dispatch to localities, businesses and traders doing import and export business through the province about the congestion of goods waiting to be exported through Huu Nghi international border gate and made recommendations.

Speaking to VietNamNet, a fruit and vegetable industry expert said that durian export turnover in May will increase more strongly than in April 2023 and the same period last year. Because the West has just entered the main durian harvest season and the Central Highlands is also about to peak. Durian output is estimated to reach 650,000 tons in the second and third quarters of 2023.

In particular, Vietnamese durian has just received more good news when the Chinese Customs approved 47 more growing area codes and 18 packing facilities that meet export requirements. Accordingly, our country has 293 growing areas and 115 packing facilities of Vietnamese durian that have been granted official export codes by China to this market.

"Enterprises have signed large orders to export durian to China. Some businesses have received orders to export 1,500 containers to Chinese partners. Meanwhile, some other businesses have an average of 2-3 containers a day to export to this market," the expert said.

In addition to official durian, Vietnam and China also signed a protocol on mangosteen and bananas and are negotiating to sign a protocol with China on fruits such as dragon fruit, watermelon, lychee, longan, rambutan, and mango.

At the same time, Vietnamese authorities proposed that China open its doors to other Vietnamese fruit and vegetable products such as green-skinned grapefruit, fresh coconut, avocado, lemon, pineapple, and star apple.

The Import-Export Department also informed that processed fruit and vegetable products exported in the first 4 months of 2023 reached 356.4 million USD, an increase of 22.9% over the same period in 2022.

This is a category with great export potential due to the increasing demand for processed fruits and vegetables among people around the world. Therefore, export enterprises need to focus on exploiting this segment, contributing to increasing the export value of fruit and vegetable products in the coming time, the Import-Export Department noted.

(Source: Vietnamnet)