The 6 hectare center, which was invested by Dong Giao Foodstuff Export Company, will include three factories with a total production capacity of 30,000 tonnes of products annually.Once operational in July, the centre is forecast to post a revenue of VNĐ2 trillion (US$88 million) each year, export turnover of US$80-90 million and contribute up to VND100 billion (US$4.4 million) to the State budget while creating thousands of local jobs, the company’s representatives said at the ground breaking ceremony.
The export value of processed fruits can be 10-20 times higher than fresh fruits
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Cuong also required the investor to complete the project as schedule and the province’s authorities to continusouly scrutinize agricultural structuring so that it can develop a material area of 10,000 hecrares, contributing to boosting up the country’s economic growth.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, fruits and vegetables have so far contributed significantly to Vietnam’s exports as its export value has increased sharply recently. The value was US$2.4 billion in 2016 while it reached $3.6 billion last year, a year-on-year growth of 43.2 per cent.
The Vietnam Vegetable and Fruit Association said local vegetable and fruit products have been exported to 40 countries and territories and these products achieved a breakthrough in exports over the past two years. The products’ export turnover has so far exceeded the exports of other key export products such as rice, rubber, tea and cashew nut.
China, Japan, the United States and South Korea were the four largest export markets for Vietnamese vegetable and fruit products last year, accounting for some 84.7 per cent of the total national export value of vegetable and fruit products.
Vegetable and fruit exports are expected to gain higher growth in the future, however, experts have also urged firms to focus on processing to increase added value.
Nguyen Huu Dat, General Secratery of the Vietnam Vegetable and Fruit Association, said besides increasing the products’ quality, firms need to invest in processing to help their growth more stably and effectively.
Echoing with Dat, Dinh Cao Khue, General Director of Dong Dao Food Export Company, said that the export value of processed fruits can be 10-20 times higher than fresh fruits.
“We can select only 40-50 percent of the best fresh fruits for exports, however, the proportion of usable fruits will be much higher if it is processed,” Khue explained.
With export turnover of US$1 billion yearly, fruits and vegetables are defined as the national key export products of the country under the agricultural restructuring plan for 2017-2020 approved by the Prime Minister.
The Government will also promote mechanisms for the shift of infertile rice land into the cultivation land for other types of plants, particularly vegetable production under high technology.
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development set a target of increasing the total area of fruits in the country to 910,000 hectares, producing 9.5 million tonnes of fruits in the coming time. The export turnover of fruits and vegetables are expected to reach more than US$4.5 billion by 2020, of which fruits account for over 80 percent.
