Debottlenecking export market of agricultural products

Many positive signals

In the first months of 2023, rice is among the agricultural products with highest export output of the province. Director of Long An Department of Industry and Trade - Nguyen Tuan Thanh informed: "Over the past time, the situation of rice production and export in the province has developed quite well. By the beginning of May 2023, enterprises have exported over 340,000 tons of rice with a value of about 180 million USD, equal to the first 6 months of 2022. According to the assessment of Industry and Trade sector as well as the Vietnam Food Association, the current supply is not enough, so the price of rice is increasing and in the coming time, rice export volume will continue to increase.

Duong Vu Co. Ltd (Binh Thanh commune, Thu Thua district) packing rice for export

There are 26 rice exporters across the province. In which, 3 enterprises that can export rice directly to China, including: Tan Dong Tien Joint Stock Company, Viet Thanh Co. Ltd., Duong Vu Co. Ltd. In addition, there are 3 the rice-exporting companies that have warehouses, milling facilities and 1 company renting warehouses and milling facilities.

A representative of Duong Vu Co. Ltd (Binh Thanh commune, Thu Thua district) said that the company specializes in purchasing, milling and exporting rice. On average, the company exports about 60,000-70,000 tons of rice every month, of which, mainly exports to the Chinese market.

Besides the advantages of rice production and export, some key agricultural products of the province also have positive signs in terms of prices and consumption markets, especially after China opened up. Product such as dragon fruit, lemon, jackfruit, watermelon, etc are exported stably with high prices, creating excitement for farmers.

Workers preliminarily process dragon fruit after buying from the garden

According to data from Import and Export Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), Vietnam's dragon fruit export value has decreased for 3 consecutive years since 2019. Specifically, dragon fruit export turnover in 2022 reached 663 million USD, decreased 37% compared to 2021 and 50% compared to 2019, due to China tightening Covid-19 quarantine activities on imported goods. This leads to sharp fluctuations in the price of dragon fruit as it depends too much on the Chinese market.

The province's dragon fruit consumption also faces common difficulties. Since China removed the Zero Covid policy and opened the border, goods have also been traded more easily than before. The price of dragon fruit also increased, bringing profits to people and businesses. Currently, the price of red flesh dragon fruit ranges from 20,000-35,000 VND/kg.

Chairman of the Provincial Dragon Fruit Association - Nguyen Quoc Trinh said: "Currently, the largest market for exporting dragon fruits of the province is still China. Therefore, growers need to change production practices, focus on building codes of growing areas, clean production in the direction of GAP, GlobalGAP and especially pay attention to new regulations of the export markets”.

Workers of Hoang Phat Fruit Co. Ltd. pack dragon fruit for export

According to Agriculture and Rural Development Department of Ben Luc district, the whole district currently has over 1,880 hectares of high-tech lemons, produced in the direction of GAP, eligible for export to the European market, with an output of nearly 15,000 tons/year through The Fruit Republic Company (Netherlands).

Director of Agricultural Service Cooperative of Ben Luc district - Tran Duy Thuan said: “The Fruit Republic Company signed a contract to consume all products for the cooperative with an area of 100 hectares. They also provide agricultural materials in advance with prices 5% lower than the market. This opens up many opportunities for lemon growers.”

Head of Agriculture and Rural Development Department of Ben Luc district - Le Van Nam shared: "The orientation of the lemon export company is very clear in branding. They have directly guided farmers in techniques of cultivation, changed the traditional way of production to meet GlobalGAP standards or GAP direction, eligible for export to the European market. In particular, the price of lemons purchased by the company is 3,000-5,000 VND/kg higher, thereby changing the way of thinking and producing of many lemon growing households in the district.

Continue to improve the quality of agricultural products

Up to now, the province has over 2,600 hectares of crops of all kinds produced according to VietGAP, GlobalGAP standards,etc. Along with that, there are 270 codes of planting areas with a total area of over 13,445 hectaes. Specifically, dragon fruit has 226 codes; banana has 2 codes; watermelon has 13 codes; mango has 2 codes; lemon has 25 codes; Durian has 2 codes. The number of fruit packing establishments with granted codes is 147 with agricultural products such as bananas, lemons, dragon fruits,etc to export to markets such as China, USA, New Zealand, Japan,etc.

In addition, the province also successfully built the geographical indication "Chau Thanh Long An" for dragon fruit, the "Ben Luc Long An" for seedless lemon products; cooperated with CIPTEK Intellectual Property and Technology Research Center to complete the application for certification mark protection of the "Ben Luc Long An Seedless Lemon" in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The delegation of Department of Industry and Trade of Lao Cai province and Department of Commerce of Honghe Hani, Yunnan province (China) surveying the lemon growing area in Ben Luc district.

According to Deputy Director of Department of Agriculture and Rural Development - Nguyen Chi Thien, in order to develop the province's agricultural products, the Agriculture sector must continue to guide localities to review and plan specialized and stable production area for key crops with high economic value, suitable to the conditions of each region; apply science and technology to production to meet export standards; mobilize people to actively change crop structure, build large fields, apply clean and safe agricultural production according to VietGAP, GlobalGAP standards; form linkage chains in production to have a large quantity of high quality products.

Recently, the delegation of Department of Industry and Trade of Lao Cai province and Department of Commerce of Honghe Hani, Yunnan province (China) came to survey and connect trade with enterprises producing, processing and exporting agricultural products in the  province. Along with that, the provincial Department of Industry and Trade signed a memorandum of understanding with OSB company on supporting businesses in the province to boost exports through e-commerce.

“In the coming time, Department of Industry and Trade will continue to support the export activities of agricultural products of the province by providing information about export markets to enterprises and associations. In addition, the Department will coordinate to inspect enterprises, especially rice exporters' warehouses and mills to ensure the quality of rice for export markets; continue to support organizations and businesses through trade promotion programs, including e-commerce promotion and international food fairs and exhibitions." Mr. Nguyen Tuan Thanh informed./.

By Bui Tung - Translated by Q. Thien

Source: https://baolongan.vn/khoi-thong-thi-truong-xuat-khau-hang-hoa-nong-san-a155858.html