HANOI: Vietnam has many advantages for tropical fruits, but because of poor packaging, marketing and high prices, local fruits cannot compete with imported products. In Hanoi, imported fruit is priced reasonably and sells well. For example, apples imported from the US and New Zealand are only VND56,000 to VND70,000 ($2.5-3) per kilo, similar to the prices of some local fruits like Hoa Loc mango or mangosteen.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, about 17,000 to 18,000 tons of fruit arrive at HCM City’s Thu Duc fruit wholesale market every night, including 30% of imported fruits. Apples, pears, and oranges from Thailand, South Korea, and the US are more favored and sell very well. Imported fruit is not only available at supermarkets but also traditional markets and mobile markets in Hanoi. Customers say that imported fruits are well packed and the prices are also reasonable.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in January-July 2016, Vietnam earned $1.4 billion from export of vegetables and fruits. Many picky markets are now opened to Vietnamese fruit such as the US, EU, Japan, South Korea … It is expected that fruit exports will bring in over $2 billion for the country this year.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh said that the fruits are considered a “savior” for agricultural exports of Vietnam. The Ministry and related agencies are speeding up trade promotion for this item, which has potential in both quantity and quality. Doanh said it is good to explore foreign markets but the domestic market is also important.
“Vietnam is spending a lot of money to import fruit. If Vietnamese fruits satisfy picky foreign markets, then there is no reason that local customers cannot choose it. The matter is our poor marketing and promotion activities. Some customers still favor foreign than local products,” said Doanh.
Ho Quoc Nguyen, Director of External Relations of Big C supermarket chain, said that besides imported fruit, supermarkets also sell fruit of foreign origin grown in Vietnam. This kind of fruit is cheaper than imported fruit of the same kind. It sells very well. Nguyen Khac Huy, Director Hoang Phat Fruit Co., after a long time of improving quality, Vietnam’s fruits have satisfied the condition of imports of many countries such as the US, New Zealand, Japan. Besides foreign markets, fruit exporters are beginning to pay attention to the local market.
