Local fruit strives to win back domestic market

The total value of Vietnamese fruit market is estimated at 20 to 30 billion USD. However, this thriving market seems to be neglected by agro firms, while there have been more and more imported fruits showing up in Vietnamese people’s fridges. How to win back the domestic market is a question for the local agriculture sector.

With an average yield of 100,000 tonnes a year, mango is among five key farm produces of Dong Thap province, which has been exported to many choosy foreign markets. However, the fruit has been sharing a same old story with many local fruits in the domestic playground: high yield - low price.

Another factors worsening the situation is that many agro firms have focused on exporting but underestimated domestic market. Not to mention, building brand names for local fruits has been overlooked. It is important to improve production and retail chains to bring local fruits closer to domestic consumers.

With numerous free trade agreements being ratified and coming into force, especially EVFTA and CPTPP recently, the competition between Vietnamese and foreign farm produces has been getting fiercer. It’s high time we changed the mindset of farming and marketing unless local agro products will struggle right at home.

With an export value of nearly 4 million USD in 2018, Vietnamese fruit have proved its name in global market, even choosy ones. It shows the great potential of local fruits. As soon as we address current problems facing the agro production, Vietnamese fruit can gain a firm position in both foreign and domestic markets