Fruit and vegetable exports top $1 billion for first time in July

Fruit and vegetable exports top $1 billion for first time in July

According to the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, fruit and vegetable exports reached approximately $1.06 billion in July, up 38 per cent on-year. This marked the first time monthly fruit and vegetable export turnover surpassed the $1 billion threshold.

Photo: Hoang Oanh

In the first seven months of 2026, exports totalled approximately $4.76 billion, representing a 23 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.

The sector’s growth was driven primarily by a recovery in durian exports, which account for more than half of the industry’s total export value.

China remained the largest export market, accounting for around 55 per cent of total export value, while the United States and South Korea continued to post positive growth.

Other Vietnamese products, including coconuts, mangoes, bananas, passion fruit, and processed fruit and vegetables, also recorded strong growth.

The sector is expanding in scale while undergoing a notable shift in its export structure, with processed products accounting for an increasingly significant share, particularly in distant and highly demanding markets such as the EU.

Data from the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association (Vinafruit) showed that fruit and vegetable exports to the EU reached approximately $214.4 million in the first six months of the year, up 32 per cent on-year. In June alone, export turnover to the market increased by 38 per cent.

Notably, processed products account for a significantly larger share of exports to the EU than the industry average. While processed products currently make up around 31 per cent of Vietnam’s total fruit and vegetable export value, the proportion in the EU market is close to two-thirds.

Within the EU, the Netherlands was Vietnam’s largest fruit and vegetable import market, with export turnover reaching $117 million, up 46.8 per cent year-on-year and accounting for 54.6 per cent of Vietnam’s total exports to the bloc. Germany followed with $58.4 million, up 47 per cent, while France accounted for 14.7 per cent.

Vinafruit said deep processing is becoming an important avenue for Vietnamese agricultural products to overcome the disadvantages posed by geographical distance.

Fresh fruit and vegetables exported to distant markets often face challenges due to high air freight costs, while sea transport requires stringent preservation and storage technologies.

In fact, several processed products are recording strong growth. Exports of processed passion fruit reached $123.2 million, up 37.5 per cent, while potato exports surged 100.7 per cent and processed dragon fruit exports increased 50 per cent.

In Germany, one of the EU’s major markets, the value of processed fruit and vegetable imports from Vietnam reached $32.6 million in the first five months of the year, up 126 per cent.

Dang Phuc Nguyen, secretary general of Vinafruit, said deep processing also helps address the issue of post-harvest losses.

“Post-harvest losses of fruit and vegetables in Vietnam remain high at 30–40 per cent, significantly above the approximately 10-15 per cent recorded in Thailand,” he said.

VIR