POSITIVE SIGNALS FROM FRUIT AND VEGETABLE EXPORT MARKET

According to the Report of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in March 2021, the export value of vegetables and fruits reached USD 380 million, an increase of 6.3% compared to March 2020. Generally, in the first three months of 2021, the export of vegetables and fruits was estimated at 944 million USD, up 6.1% over the same period in 2020. Despite the Covid-19 epidemic still progressing complicatedly, the export activities of goods vegetables and fruits of Vietnam took place quite actively in the first three months of 2021. As a result, thanks to good disease control, export activities were not interrupted.

In the first two months of the year, vegetables and fruits were mainly exported to China, reaching US $ 352.83 million, up 17.5% over the same period in 2020, accounting for 62.5% of the total export value of vegetables and fruits of Vietnam. The reason is due to the strong increase in consumption demand during the Lunar New Year.

After China, fruit and vegetable products are also exported to other markets such as the United States, Thailand, Japan, Korea ... Notably, the export value of vegetables and fruits to Taiwan (China). , Australia and Malaysia increased very strongly. Export value to Taiwan market reached 12.87 million USD, up 43.1%; Australia market reached 11.9 million USD, up 30.6%; Malaysia market reached 9.2 million USD, up 32.5% over the same period in 2020.

According to experts, since the beginning of 2021, Vietnam's fruit and vegetable industry has boosted exports to many other large potential markets, such as Egypt, Kuwait, Ukraine, Senegal ... This is expected to be the markets that help the Vietnamese fruit and vegetable industry increase export value in 2021 and the following years.

According to statistics, our country currently has about 1.05 million hectares of fruit trees, production of more than 12.6 million tons. Vietnamese fruit products have been exported to many countries around the world. Up to now, the Plant Protection Department (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) has issued 998 area codes for growing fruits to export to high quality markets such as the US, Australia, Korea, Thailand, Japan, EU. In addition, 47 codes of packing facilities have also been granted to agricultural products for export to these markets.

Besides the results achieved, also poses internal problems of the fruit and vegetable export industry. Currently, the scale of fruit and vegetable production in Vietnam, though large, is still very fragmented, and has not produced concentratedly on a large scale, so the application of traceability for each farmer household is very difficult and expensive. Safe vegetable and fruit production in the direction of VietGap or GlobalGap is still quite modest, accounting for only about 10 - 15% of the total cultivated area, so businesses have difficulty mobilizing a large quantity of goods to meet the standards for implementing export contracts.

Particularly for the Chinese market, in 2021 this market will tighten official exports by strictly conducting product traceability by QR code and ban on unofficial export. On the other hand, with the improved standard of living of Chinese people, consumers increasingly appreciate the quality and safety of agricultural products and foodstuffs.

In addition, transportation difficulties, rising freight rates, lack of empty containers, trouble airways ... affect costs. In addition, consumption in the import market due to the impact of the epidemic remains a big challenge.

In order to take advantage of market opportunities and boost export, many opinions said that businesses need to improve the quality of fruit and vegetable products and meet the standards required by the importing market.

Recently, the Prime Minister has approved the project to develop the fruit and vegetable processing industry in the period 2021 - 2030 with a target to 2030. Accordingly, the Project sets a target to 2030, the value of export vegetables and fruits reached 8-10 billion USD. In which, the proportion of export turnover of processed fruit and vegetable products reaches 30% or more; fruit and vegetable processing capacity will reach 2 million tons of products / year, nearly two times higher than that of 2020; to attract new investment from 50 to 60 large and medium-sized fruit and vegetable processing establishments; to build and successfully develop a number of modern fruit and vegetable processing groups and enterprises on a regional and international level with high international competitiveness.

To achieve the above objectives, the project also sets out specific tasks: Promote investment in improving capacity of fruit and vegetable processing; to develop establishments for preliminary processing and preserving of fresh fruits and vegetables; promote the processing of key fruit and vegetable products and products with high added value; organize the production of raw fruits and vegetables for processing; developing consumption markets for vegetables and fruits.

To strongly attract investment so that by 2030, ensuring that in concentrated fruit and vegetable production areas, production cooperatives and in large collection establishments and agents, to invest in machinery, equipment and preliminary workshops, packing, and storing cool facilities with suitable scale to form a system of synchronous preliminary processing and packaging establishments. To step up the deep processing and diversification of products from vegetable and fruit raw materials and post-processing by-products; strive in the period 2021 - 2030, the growth rate of added value on average over 10% / year; to build and form areas specializing in vegetable and fruit production to ensure that the supplied materials (about 5-6 million tons by 2030) are of quality and safe food for processing activities….

The Vietnam - UK Free Trade Agreement (UKFTA) promises to create a new impetus for economic and trade cooperation in the coming time. When the agreement comes into effect, more than 94% of the total 547 tax lines for vegetables and fruits and vegetables and products have the tax rate of 0%. Many products that are the strength of Vietnam such as litchi, longan, rambutan, dragon fruit, pineapple, melon ... will have additional market access advantages in the context of tropical fruits originating from competing countries such as Brazil, Thailand, Malaysia ... all have no FTA with the UK. With the current growth rate, the prospect of Vietnam's fruit and vegetable export is expected to grow in the near future.

Source: https://nhandan.com.vn/nhan-dinh/nhung-tin-hieu-tich-cuc-tu-thi-truong-xuat-khau-rau-qua-640645/

Publication date: April 02, 2021.