Vietnamese fruit exports to China plummet 

Vietnam’s fruit exports to China plunged 25% during the first eight months of 2020 due to stricter quality and origin standards imposed as well as the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has caused disruption to transportation and higher freight costs. A report published by VN Express highlights how fruit and vegetable wholesale markets in China are imposing higher requirements for imported fruits to meet the demand for higher-quality fruit. This has led to a loss in value in Vietnamese fruit, as acknowledged by the country’s sector. According to a report, in the first quarter of 2020, the value of Vietnam’s exports to China fell by 29.4%.

There have been detections of harmful bacteria in imports from Vietnam, according to Yuan Ya Xiang, general secretary of the Shanghai Fruit Business Association.

Dang Phuc Nguyen, general secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetables Association, said that many businesses in Vietnam operate on a small scale and have poor packaging practices, whereas exporters need to possess at least 10 hectares of production area to meet the VietG.A.P. standards required to be able to export to China without quality concerns.

China is Vietnam’s largest export market, accounting for 27.8% of all agricultural exports (US$8.5 billion in 2019). Vietnam’s main exports to China are dragon fruit, watermelon, lychee, longan, banana, mango, jackfruit, rambutan, and mangosteen.

Photo: VnExpress / Giang Huy