Export of vegetables and fruits declines in August

Vietnam's fruit and vegetable exports in August reached $230 million, the lowest level since July 2020

Statistics from the Foreign Trade Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade show that Vietnam's fruit and vegetable export value in August reached $230 million, the lowest level since July 2020, down 13.3 per cent compared to the previous month and down 16.6 per cent on-year.

In the first eight months, Vietnam's fruit and vegetable exports were estimated at $2.52 billion, up 11.8 per cent on-year. The output of vegetables and fruits of all kinds reached 12.5 million tonnes, up 2.2 per cent on-year. It is expected that fruit and vegetable production of all kinds in the third quarter will reach 4.5 million tonnes.

In the third quarter, domestic fruit prices are strongly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, causing low demand. According to the forecast of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the country's fruit consumption demand in this period will reach 257,618 tonnes and is expected to increase to 347,785 tonnes in the fourth quarter.

According to both ministries, the fourth COVID-19 outbreak has had a strong impact on the production, processing, and marketing activities of fruit and vegetable export. The sharp export decline in August was because many southern cities and provinces implemented social distancing to prevent the pandemic.

In the first seven months, export vegetables and fruits still grew positively. In particular, export fruits and nuts had the largest value of $1.6 billion, up 18.2 per cent on-year. Of this, exported dragon fruit accounted for 44.0 per cent of the total export value of fruits and nuts, reaching $704.6 million, up 5.5 per cent on-year, followed by mango, banana, jackfruit, and watermelon.

Processed products reached $516.1 million, up 13.9 per cent on-year. Coconut and dried fruits accounted for a large proportion of this with high growth rate, reaching $62.5 million and $54.9 million, up 89.1 per cent and 101.3 per cent on-year, respectively.

However, China, Vietnam’s main export market of fruit and vegetables, slightly decreased. The export value of eight fruits, including mango, dragon fruit, banana, longan, lychee, watermelon, rambutan, and mangosteen reached two million tonnes, worth $1.86 billion, down 5.6 per cent in volume and 3.2 per cent in value on-year.