Vietnam's fruit and vegetable exports on track for stronger growth in 2025

Great opportunities

Many kinds of Vietnamese fruit and vegetables are now entering new markets, including Northeast Asia, contributing to the country’s fruit and vegetable export turnover reaching US$7.2 billion in 2024, with an increasing volume of legally exported products. The good result is thanks to efforts over previous years, as most fruit trees require long investment periods, at least five to seven years before yielding fruit.

Since 2014, fruits such as longan, banana, mango, durian, custard apple, and grapefruit have gradually made their way abroad. In addition to the volume, Vietnamese fruit and vegetable exporters are increasingly meeting the standards and regulations of their international partners, allowing them to penetrate stricter markets with high standards for food safety and hygiene. As a result, opening new markets for these fruits has become easier, leading to strong growth in export turnover in recent years.

The export of additional products, such as passion fruit to the US and frozen durian to China, demonstrates that Vietnamese businesses have become more proactive in dealing with complex and ever-changing market developments.

Nguyen Dinh Tung, chairman and CEO of Vina T&T Group, stated, “Currently, food safety standards have become a common trend. In the future, standards will become even stricter, with factors like green standards, circular economy, and renewable energy, among others. To export to major markets, we must meet the required standards if we want to engage in. To ensure stable exports, enterprises and producers must meet all necessary conditions to join the game.”

Looking ahead for greater progress

The Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association (Vinafruit) reported that fruit and vegetable export turnover reached a record US$7.2 billion in 2024. Northeast Asia markets, including Japan, the Republic of Korea, and China, accounted for the majority of this turnover. With the growing demand for quality products, Vietnam has made great efforts to meet the stringent standards of international partners, gradually establishing its position in the market. This progress presents favorable conditions to further boost exports and increase turnover in 2025.

Dang Phuc Nguyen, general secretary of the Vinafruit said, "There is nothing more important than maintaining stable quality and quantity. The best way to keep this year’s turnover and increase it compared to last year is to ensure that quantity grows alongside quality. With the current momentum, we expect that in 2025, the fruit and vegetable export turnover will reach at least US$8 billion."

Overcoming the difficult period of COVID-19 from 2023 to present, Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable exports have enjoyed remarkable growth. In 2023, fruit and vegetable exports hit a record high of US$5.6 billion, an increase of 57.7% compared to 2022, all in just one year. In 2024, exports continued to achieve new successes, surpassing US$6 billion, with the total for the whole year reaching nearly US$7.2 billion.

Vu Ba Phu, head of the Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that with the active support and market opening efforts from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, many new items have been successfully introduced, such as coconut and durians into China, and grapefruit into markets like the Republic of Korea, Japan, the US, and the Netherlands.

Together with the efforts of state management agencies in promoting trade and raising the profile of Vietnamese agricultural products, producers must also drastically change their awareness in complying with regulations of specific markets in Northeast Asia, the United States, the EU, and the Middle East towards the overall stable development of the sector.

"In the coming time, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will continue to intensify trade promotion activities in collaboration with the Vinafruit, Notably, we will work with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to launch more fruit festivals and exhibitions abroad, such as in Beijing or in key markets like the US, France, and Germany," Phu went on.

To maintain stability in exports, Vietnamese businesses must continue to adapt to meet the requirements of their partners. They need a clear strategy and a forward-looking vision to minimize risks. By investing more in the quality and image of fruit and vegetables, they can open up more opportunities to expand Vietnam’s agricultural export markets, he added.