According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam’s fruit output reaches more than 7 million tonnes per year, ranking fifth in Asia. Just 10 percent of fruit are for export while the rest rely upon consumption by domestic markets, which are being dominated by imported fruit.

At a disadvantage on home turf

In the first half of this year, earnings from imported fruit hit US$74 million. This figure is inaccurate as, in fact, it is difficult to define the exact volumes of fruit imported through unofficial channels, says the General Department of Customs.

Fruits imported from Thailand, the US and China are gaining an advantage over the Mekong River Delta region- the country’s largest fruit growing area.  According to statistics from the Vietnam Economic Association, as many as 500 tonnes of fruit are transported daily to markets in HCM City of which 300 tonnes are imported. It’s because imported fruits are more sought after than fruits grown in Vietnamese orchards such as mango, mango teen, orange and mandarin orange.

The main reasons for Vietnamese fruits losing out to imported ones are the low quality of the fruits and the poor processing technology. Some traders in imported fruits say that despite experiencing a long period of transport, imported fruits still remain fresh and in good condition.

Imported fruits are enticing to many as their packaging clearly informs their origins, date of export or date of expiration.

Another reason for Vietnamese fruits falling behind imported ones is that they are often put in large bamboo baskets for sales, which contribute to a low purchasing power.

Failing to meet global demands

Despite Vietnamese fruits being available in more than 50 countries and territories, their quantities are very limited. In 2008, Vietnam’s fruit export turnover reached roughly US$350 million and is estimated to reach nearly US$400 million this year. Many businesses claim that it is very difficult to provide different types of fruits to meet the needs of the global market.

The Deputy Director of the My Hoa Nam Roi Grapefruit Cooperative, Nguyen Van Nghia says, “Last month, HCM City ordered us to provide 70 containers of Nam Roi grapefruit for export to China but we failed to fill this order,”.

Currently, many localities are applying a production model under the Global Partnership for Good Agricultural Practice known as Global GAP. However, developing large intensive farming areas remains an infeasible task.

Phung Huu Hao, deputy head of the management department for agro-forestry and fisheries product quality says that fruit exports to Europe, the US and Japan are limited. China remains one of Vietnam's key export markets. This fact, however, poses something of a paradox that Vietnamese exporters of fruit to China have to take Chinese brand names and are often under pressure for price gauging.

Since July 1 the two countries have applied an original control policy. Despite China’s failure to strictly do this, Vietnamese businesses are still unwilling to export fruit to China because they find it difficult to verify the origin of the fruit. Therefore, fruit exports to China have fallen sharply.

Especially from October 2008 onward, due to impact of the global economic crisis and shrinking export markets, domestic businesses tend to compete unfairly with one another, leading to significant losses for themselves.

Ly Hai Long, director of the Bao Thanh Company says that since early this year his company has not exported any containers of fruit to Europe because many other companies offered lower prices. Normally, the export price of dragon fruit is US$6 per kilogram but some companies sold the fruit for just US$2 per kilogram.

Several businesses even added low quality fruits contaminated with pesticide residue into the packages, once certified safe for export, making many markets close their doors to Vietnamese fruits.

Any solutions ?

Phan Huy Thong, deputy head of the Plants Department, says that the State should rezone fruit growing areas to ensure the safe supply of adequate fruit for export processing enterprises. Each region should specialise in growing one or two key fruits to export at highly competitive prices.

Dinh Van Huong, chairman of the Vietnam Vegetable and Fruit Association, says that Vietnam should have diverse policies and measures to create new high quality and high-yield fruits for export at reasonable prices. These conditions are essential to help boost Vietnamese fruit exports as other countries will tighten their import regulations and safety controls in the near future.