Vietnamese farm produce selling well in foreign markets in early 2024

Positive signs

“We have just exported shipments of mango to Australia and the United States, besides the first shipment of durian to China,” said Nguyen Dinh Tung, CEO of Vina T&T Group that specializes in exporting Vietnamese fruits meeting international standards HACCP and GlobalGAP.

These are batches of mango granted planting area codes in An Giang and exported by Vina T&T with an output of six tonnes to Australia and a tonne to the United States.

“Market signals are quite good, and orders from importers keep coming in,” said the CEO.

Last year saw Vina T&T’s export earnings increase by 40% compared to 2022, mainly from shipping fresh fruits to major markets such as China, the United States, Australia, and Europe. The firm expects its export growth this year to remain at double digits thanks to favourable market signals.

Vietnam earned US$5.6 billion from exporting fruits and vegetables last year, of which durian generated US$2.4 billion, and processed fruits and vegetables brought back more than US$1 billion.

Meanwhile, local businesses exported 1.61 million tonnes of coffee last year, earning US$4.2 billion, down by 9.6% in volume but up 3.1% in price. At the beginning of this year, the coffee industry not only welcomed new export orders, but export prices also increased.

The average export coffee price in 2023 reached US$2,834 per tonne, an increase of 14.1% compared to 2022. The upward trajectory continued in the first month of 2024 due to concerns about supply shortages from leading coffee producers, as well as concerns about supply delays when the Europe-Asia maritime transport route through the Suez Canal has been disrupted.

Local rice businesses also made a success story last year, exporting more than 8 million tonnes for approximately US$5 billion. The fact that Vietnam maintains the export of between 7 and 8 million tonnes a year shows that the supply is stable, the supply chain has been formed, and foreign partners have high demand for Vietnamese rice.

Getting the lion’s share

In 2024, the export of many agricultural products is expected to further prosper thanks to businesses’ increasingly improved production, processing and supply capacity.

Vietnamese agricultural products are now available in 190 countries and territories worldwide, but their market share in large markets remains modest. In China, for instance, Vietnamese agricultural products only account for 5% of the mainland’s total agricultural product imports. Similarly, there is still much room for growth in other potential markets such as the US, the EU, and Japan.

Businesses expect to rake in US$3.5 billion from durian exports in 2024 if frozen products are licensed by China along with successful shipments of fresh products last year. Relevant Vietnamese agencies have completed necessary procedures and they are now awaiting an approval from the Chinese side.  

The coffee industry is anticipated to get a high profit this year as Robusta coffee prices remain high in the global market due to concerns about supply shortages. Businesses revealed that export prices of coffee to be delivered in the first quarter of 2024 increased by about 3%.

There are also big export opportunities for the rice industry because of high import demand of large consumers such as Indonesia, the Philippines, and China. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development predicted that Vietnam is likely to export more than 8 million tonnes of rice in 2024, while still ensuring national food security. With sharp market fluctuations, rice exports are expected to bring in greater export revenue for Vietnam this year.

Last year, the three export items brought in revenue of more than US$14 billion, and with export orders coming in, they are set to rake in US$17-17.5 billion this year.