Vietnamese dragon fruit export to be further expanded

Illustrative image.

Accordingly, if everything goes smooth, the local dragon fruit will be protected its GI in Japan, paving a way for the fruit to foot in this strict market with 130 million populations.  Currently, Binh Thuan dragon fruit has been protected in 13 countries and territories over the world.

Next, to promote advantageous fruit consumption to Australia, a Vietnamese dragon fruit Week was launched from July 10th to August 10, which has attracted a great number of Australian consumers. At many supermarkets in Australia, dragon fruit is sold at a high price equivalent to VND80,000.

In a bit to expand consumption markets to the Southern Asian countries, the Department of Promotion (under the Ministry of Trade and Industry) has organized a teleconference to exchange and promote Vietnamese dragon fruit with partners in India and Pakistan. The move aims to introduce the local advantageous products and their export capacity to the two giant markets.

Also, a piece of bad news for the dragon fruit farmers is that the two Vietnam-China border gates of Ha Khau (Lao Cai) and Thien Bao (Thanh Thuy) are temporarily suspended.

The import-export activities can be allowed as long as the Covid-19 epidemic can be controlled. The suspension has caused a large number of trucks carrying fruit exported to China are being congested.

A few months ago, the fruit exports to China are slowing down due to the effect of Covid-19. Otherwise, China also requires certificates of Covid-19 testing, disinfecting the vehicles, stocks, and frozen storage.

In Binh Thuan, dragon fruit is in the season and ready for harvest. However, its price is felt down, causing many hardships to the farmers.

Besides exporting, the provincial authorities are trying to help farmers sell out all the ripe fruits. They boost online trading via e-commerce platforms, strengthen processing or storing dragon fruit in the frozen storage. Moreover, the province also set a goal of reaching an export turnover of USD 50-60 million by 2025. 

Vietnam’s dragon fruit output is expected to hit 1.4 million tons this year (Binh Thuan accounts for half of 700,000 tons).  In addition to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic, dragon fruit exports are facing many disadvantages due to many subjective factors. China’s growing area is reportedly 35,500 hectares, mainly in Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Yunnan, Fujian, etc.

Through a recent online trade conference with Indian and Pakistan, Binh Thuan dragon fruit must acquire the two special characteristics before penetrating the two strict markets. Firstly, all the trade exports must rely on the Vietnamese Trade office in Pakistan. Secondly, Vietnamese dragon fruit must obtain Halal Islamic standards for export as Pakistan is an Islamic nation.

In the meantime, India is a crowded population of 1.4 billion people. The potential markets of India are increasing tenfold from 2017 to 2020. Consequently, there is a must to have a Geographical Indication for Vietnamese dragon fruit in India.

Again with the good news from Japan, Binh Thuan dragon fruit is going to gain a GI in Japan. This is a choosy market with high-quality standard requirements. The local farmers should focus on improving their products so that they can maintain the traditional markets of China while expanding new markets to other countries.

Translated by My Thien (Source: Binh Thuan Newspaper)