How to promote fruit and vegetable export to Japan?

Although the growth rate of fruit and vegetable export to Japan is high, the export turnover is still lower than the consumption demand of this market 

Dragon fruit is one of Vietnamese fruits successfully exported to Japan

According to the statistics from the General Department of Customs (GDC) (under the Ministry of Finance, in January 2018, the export turnover of fruits and vegetables reached US$ 383.7 million, up by 18.3% over the previous month and up by 63.6% from 2017.

In which, the export turnover to China was US$ 296.3 million, accounting for 77.2% of the total export turnover of Vietnamese fruits and vegetables.

In addition to the China market, Vietnam also exports fruits and vegetables to other markets such as the US, Japan, Thailand, South Korea and Malaysia. Notably, the export turnover of this group to Japan gained US$ 10.6 million, a slight increase against the previous month and a year-on-year increase of 77.5%.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, although the growth rate of fruit and vegetable export to Japan is high, the export turnover is still lower than the consumption demand of this market. In 2017, the import turnover of Japan was US$ 9.5 billion, up by 2% over 2016. In which, the import turnover from Vietnam was only US$ 132.5 million, up by 5.2% over 2016.

At present, Vietnam has exported red dragon fruit, mango, lychee, perilla leaves and parsley to the Japanese market. Fruit and vegetable exporters should catch on to the change and promote fruit and vegetable exports from Vietnam to Japan in the coming time.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade also stated that Japan is a fastidious market with strict requirements on standards and quality of goods, hygiene and food safety. In order to boost exports of vegetables and fruits to Japan, Vietnamese exporters must meet stringent requirements from Japan such as quarantine, and food safety. In the production process, enterprises must have raw material areas of which codes have been granted by the Plant Protection Department (under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) and follow the food safety assurance process.

If meeting the requirements from Japan, Vietnamese vegetables and fruits will not only be exported to Japan, but also to many other fastidious countries.