Healthy turnaround: A street vendor walking past a mural in Hanoi. Fruit and vegetable exports to China recovered in June as authorities cleared various technical barriers. — AFP
HANOI: Reversing a period of negative growth, Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable industry has staged a spectacular recovery, generating nearly US$5bil in revenue from the Chinese market.
The figure eclipsed the previous full-year record of US$4.63bil set last year.
Exports of fruits and vegetables to China alone reached US$4.98bil in the first 11 months of this year.
This significantly contributed to the US$7.8bil target for the fruit and vegetable industry, with experts projecting that fruit and vegetable exports to China could reach US$5.5bil this year.
China is the largest traditional export market for Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable industry.
However, stricter controls by Chinese authorities regarding Auramine O and cadmium in durians caused a sharp decline in export turnover earlier this year.
Statistics from the Department of Customs showed that fruit and vegetable exports to the Chinese market recorded five consecutive months of negative growth compared with the same months last year.
Specifically, exports plunged by 43.1% in January, 32.1% in February and dropped 16.7%, 35.5% and 39.7% in March, April and May, respectively.
Fruit and vegetable exports to China, a market of over 1.4 billion people, reached only US$1.1bil in the first five months of this year, a sharp decrease of 35.3%t compared with the same period last year.
Over that period, the northern neighbour accounted for only 47.8% of Vietnam’s total fruit and vegetable export value.
But starting in June, exports to China began to recover as authorities cleared various technical barriers.
Exports of fruit like bananas, coconuts and passion fruit were bolstered by the signing of new official protocols.
However, the growth from June to August failed to compensate for the sharp decline in the early months of 2025.
It wasn’t until September that fruit and vegetable exports to China truly started booming, bringing in nearly US$1.07bil and creating a spectacular turnaround for the entire industry.
As a result, cumulative fruit and vegetable exports shifted from negative growth to positive growth of 1.6%t for the first nine months of the year.
Fruit and vegetable exports to the Chinese market continued to rise rapidly in October and November.
October’s figures hit US$665.6mil, double the amount from the same month last year, while November saw a nearly 93% surge, reaching US$455mil.
The VietNamNet online newspaper quoted a leader of the Vietnam Vegetable and Fruit Association (Vinafruit) as saying that China is a massive potential market in which Vietnam has many advantages in terms of geographical location and logistics, with direct connections via road, rail and seaports, reducing transportation costs and time.
In addition, many official fruit and vegetable export protocols to China had been signed in recent years, opening up opportunities for businesses to boost their market share there.
If Vietnam took full advantage of the opportunities, its fruit and vegetable exports to China could reach US$8bil to US$10bil in the next few years, he said.
However, the Vinafruit representative also noted that this market has high demands regarding traceability, quality and packaging, forcing Vietnamese businesses to constantly innovate if they want to maintain their position. — Viet Nam News/ANN
