Difficulty in Exporting To China Leads To Sharp Drop in Vietnam's Fruit And Vegetable Exports

Vietnam Customs Online reported on April 5 that according to data from the Import and Export Bureau of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam's fruit and vegetable exports in the first quarter of this year amounted to US$849 million, down 12 per cent year-on-year. 

 

In the structure of fruit and vegetable exports, fruits accounted for the highest share in the first 2 months of this year, amounting to $353.6 million, down 13.9% year-on-year. 

 

A representative of the Vietnam Ministry of Industry and Trade said that fruit was mainly exported to the Chinese market in the first 2 months of this year and that the significant drop in exports to China was the main reason for the decline in total fruit exports. 

 

The main reason for the drop in exports is apparently the backlog of agricultural products exported to China at border crossings since the end of 2021 and the slow pace of customs clearance. Notably, exports of dragon fruit to China were US$124.1 million, down 38.3 per cent year-on-year. 

 

While exports of fresh fruits and vegetables declined, exports of processed fruit and vegetable products grew at a higher rate in the first two months of this year, reaching US$120.8 million, up 14.9 per cent year-on-year. 

 

Processed fruit and vegetable products were mainly exported to the US, Chinese, Korean and Japanese markets. Exports to these four markets accounted for 47.7% of the total. 

 

Exports to the US, Korea and Japan markets grew at a better rate, with only exports to the China market falling by 19.6% year-on-year to US$15.3 million.