Two types of Vietnam’s specialty fruits become popular in a powerful agriculture-exporting country

Thailand buys a lot of fresh fruit from Vietnam

According to a report of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, not only agricultural products, other goods such as aquatic products, vegetables, cashew nuts, coffee, pepper, and many kinds of fresh fruits of Vietnam are growing more popular among Thai consumers.

According to experts, despite being a powerhouse in exporting agricultural products in the world, Thailand also has a great demand for fresh fruit and vegetable imports.

This is an opportunity for Vietnamese agricultural exporters to explore this potential market which is worth billions of dollars.

2 types of Vietnamese specialty fruit become popular in a powerful agricultural exporting country - Photo 1.

Many agricultural products and food products of Vietnam are standing strong in the Thai market. Source: moit.gov.cn

Statistics show that, in 2020, Thailand's export value of fresh and processed vegetables reaches more than 4.2 billion USD. With relatively similar climate and geographical conditions, Thai and Vietnamese agricultural products also have many similarities. However, in comparison, Thai products are often more competitive than those of Vietnam. 

Nevertheless, experts see that Thailand is a potential market for Vietnamese exporters. Although exporting a lot of agricultural products, Thailand also has to import a large amount of vegetables and fruits.

In 2020, the country imported more than $2.6 billion worth of fresh and processed vegetables and fruits. Meanwhile, Vietnam has many specialty products with comparative advantage that Thailand cannot compete such as such as lychee and dragon fruit.

Many Thai companies have imported dragon fruit and lychee from Vietnam to sell in big supermarket systems. In addition, Thai companies also import raw agricultural products into Thailand for processing.

The report of the Ministry of Industry and Trade shows that Thailand is one of Vietnam’s trading partners with large import-export turnover. The country is consistently among top 10 trading partners of Vietnam. 

According to statistics of the International Trade Center (ITC), Vietnam's trade turnover with Thailand has increased sevenfold, from 2.31 billion USD in 2004 to 16.58 billion USD in 2020. The average growth rate is more than 11% per year.

In 2021, the import-export turnover between Vietnam and Thailand reaches approximately 19 billion USD, up by 17.9% compared to 2020.

This is the highest turnover ever. In the first three months of 2022, the import-export turnover between the two countries is nearly 5 billion USD, up by 7.4%.

In the past 16 years, two-way trade turnover reached the highest value in 2018 at 18.61 billion USD, mainly thanks to import turnover from Thailand.

Improve the quality of agricultural products to enter Thai market

According to experts, in order for Vietnamese products to smoothly enter Thai market, Vietnamese companies need to have basic strategies such as improving product quality, matching with local taste while keeping the original attributes of the products.

In addition, product packaging should be designed delicately, beautifully, and capable of conveying a message to consumers that it originates from Vietnam. 

In addition, having a wide range of product volumes and weights should also be bought into consideration. This will make it easier for consumers to try when the products are still new to the market. From that, consumers will get acquainted and transition to buying the products more regularly.

K.Nguyen

Dan Viet Newspaper