Vietnam’s agricultural products appeal to foreign customers

Hanoi – Vietnam's agricultural products were sold well in foreign markets in Q1, with a surge in both volume and prices documented.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), durian exports brought home 254 million USD in the first three months of the year, shooting up 66 per cent against the same time last year.

Vietnam shipped some 32,750 tonnes of the fruit worth 161 million USD to China during January – February, overtaking Thailand to become the largest exporter of the staple to the northern neighbour.

The country accounted for nearly 60 per cent of the total market share of durian in China, well above the 32 per cent in 2023.

Within less than two years, Vietnamese durian made a giant stride in the market of more than 1 billion consumers, and the fruit is expected to maintain its reign in this market for a long time thanks to bumper crops, competitive prices, and rapid transportation.

In the same vein, coffee has been on its heyday after more than 30 years reaching out to the European market. The country gained nearly 1.9 billion USD from exporting 800,000 tonnes, up 54.2 per cent in value and 44.4 per cent in quantity year-on-year.

As coffee bean is now sold at around 4,000 USD per tonne, it is possible to achieve the set target of 5 billion USD in export revenue this year, experts have said.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese banana has won the taste of the Republic of Korea, China’s Hong Kong, and Japan, among others. Vietnamese fresh banana has hit the shelves of more than 90 AEON stores in Hong Kong while the Philippines, China’s Taiwan, and Singapore were the main supplier previously.

Rice made a great contribution to Vietnam’s farm produce export growth in the three-month period. More than 2 million tonnes were shipped abroad for 1.37 billion USD, a year-on-year rise of 12 per cent in volume and 40 per cent in value.

Vietnam, among the world’s top three rice exporters, is pinning a high hope for rice export this year, given its stable production and India’s export ban.

Besides, the export of Vietnamese fishery products made a breakthrough in the period with nearly 1.9 billion USD in revenue, up nearly 2 per cent from the same time last year. The items have been in the shopping list of consumers in 170 countries and territories.

Japan, the US, and China are the key markets of Vietnamese fishery products. Particularly, Vietnam has surpassed its rivals such as Ecuador, India, and Indonesia in shrimp shipments to China.

Experts held that they should zone off quality cultivation area, strictly comply with food safety and hygiene standards and quarantine requirements of fastidious markets, and build brands for their products.

A delegation from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development travelled to China for negotiations in early January, to promote closer cooperation on agricultural matters, including boosting exports.

The number of shipments of Vietnamese agricultural products to markets around the world since the start of the Lunar New Year heralds a bonanza year for the sector's exports.

Vietnam counted a 21.8 per cent jump on-year in agricultural, forestry, and fishery export value in Q1, continuing a stellar performance for the export picture of the country.