According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the export value of fruits and vegetables in May 2020 is estimated at USD 275 million, bringing the export value of fruits and vegetables in the first five months of 2020 to USD 1.5 billion, down 14.5% over the same period in 2019.

China ranked first in Vietnam's vegetable and fruit import market, accounting for about 60.8% of the market share; Export of vegetables and fruits to this market decreased by 29.2% in value over the same period in 2019.

Except for the Chinese market with the export value decreased, most of Vietnam's vegetable and fruit import markets increased, such as Thailand with USD 57.8 million (accounting for 4.7% of the market share, increased by 244.1%); South Korea with USD 54.6 million (accounting for 4.5%, increased by 25.4%); The United States with USD 49.2 million (accounting for 4%, increased by 8.2%); Japan with USD 46.2 million (accounting for 3.8%, increased by 26.4%); Netherlands with USD 28 million (accounting for 2.3%, increased by 28.3%), etc.

According to Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen, General Secretary of Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association (Vinafruit), in the 2018-2019 period, there were 30 big projects on processing agricultural products (investment capital of about USD 1 billion) started construction and a number of facilities have completed and put into production.

Processed fruits and vegetables are not affected by Covid-19 due to their convenience and long storage time. If the export of processed products is continued, it will increase the export value of the entire vegetable and fruit industry amid complicated developments of COVID-19 pandemic.

Besides, according to Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen, the fruit and vegetable processing industry will prevail and on the momentum of development, especially when EVFTA takes effect. However, technical barriers to entry into the EU market are very strict, businesses need to prepare raw material areas to meet the required criteria.

On the other hand, a number of "neighboring" countries have invested in technology, promoting import of Vietnamese agricultural products for processing, exporting to EU markets, in an effort to gain market share from Vietnam. Therefore, the State and businesses need to advocate so that farmers participate in cooperatives, creating large fields to implement mechanization.

"We can attract investment from the U.S., Japan, Korea, Australia, Israel, etc. to promote the development of deep processing technology," said Phuc.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development recommends that enterprises should focus on promoting preliminary processing towards export of processed fruits and vegetables. It is predicted that by the end of the year, vegetable and fruit export will gain growth momentum again when countries could somehow achieve success in the control of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Reportedly, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is completing the draft of the project "Development of fruit and vegetable processing industry to stand among the top five countries in the world".

Kylie Nguyen