Agriculture & Food

According to statistics from the General Administration of Customs, in the first four months of 2023, fruit exports to the Chinese market amounted to over 800 million US dollars, an increase of nearly 28% compared to the same period in 2022, accounting for 58.67% of the market share. Deng Fuyuan, Secretary General of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, stated that the growth of fruit exports in the Chinese market is partly due to the fact that in April, multiple ports between Vietnam and China increased their business hours every day to receive goods. This shows that the demand of the Chinese market is growing rapidly after a long period of COVID-19 epidemic.

In the first three months of this year, durian from Vietnam has not yet entered the main season, so exports are still relatively limited. In April and May, the supply of durian began to increase, and the export of this product also showed strong growth. In addition, Vietnam has officially exported sweet potatoes legally to the Chinese market, laying the foundation for the growth of the industry. Specifically, in April 2023, the General Administration of Customs of China has approved and issued codes to 70 Growing region and 13 sweet potato packaging units that meet export conditions.

In addition to fruits, dried wooden potato chips are also one of the commodities that have seen export growth in the Chinese market. Customs data shows that in the past four months, the export volume has reached 4118400 tons, with an export value of 108.75 million US dollars, an increase of 17.9% and 11.2% compared to 2022, respectively, accounting for 90.31% of the total export volume of dried wooden potato chips in China.

However, in the field of aquatic products, exports to the Chinese market have significantly decreased. Overall, in the first four months of 2023, Vietnam's exports of aquatic products to the Chinese market exceeded $363 million, a decrease of 31.95% compared to the same period in 2022. For coffee products, according to customs data, in the first four months of 2023, Vietnam exported 134200 tons of coffee to the Chinese market, with an export value of 40.38 million US dollars. The quantity and value decreased by 7.4% and 9.3% respectively compared to the same period in 2022.

Among them, according to customs data, in April 2023, the average export price of Vietnamese iced coffee coffee to China will reach US $2940/ton, down 1.5% month on month and 11.3% year on year. In the first four months of 2023, the average export price of Vietnamese iced coffee to China was 3006 US dollars/ton, a decrease of 2.1% compared with the same period of 2022. Vietnam's share in China's total coffee imports decreased from 23.96% in the first quarter of 2022 to 13.9% in the first quarter of 2023. Customs data shows that the export value of processed coffee to China in the first four months of this year was 24.23 million US dollars, a decrease of 16.6% compared to the same period in 2022. In addition, Vietnam's pepper exports are also facing pressure due to sluggish demand. Vietnam's share in China's total imported pepper decreased from 39.36% in the first quarter of 2022 to 29.75% in the first quarter of 2023.

Good product, hitting demand

In order to increase the export volume to the Chinese market, agricultural products need to have good quality and meet the needs of consumers. The Trade Promotion Bureau of the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade believes that this is an important factor in promoting the export of vegetables and fruits to China. For Pitaya, one of the main products exported to China, in addition to the requirements for quality and food hygiene and safety, export enterprises should pay close attention to the demand of the market at each stage.

Although China is the world's largest importer of Pitaya, from 2015 to now, due to the development of domestic Pitaya production area, which has met part of consumer demand, the import volume of this country tends to slow down and gradually reduce. Therefore, if they want to maintain and continue to increase the export volume of Pitaya, producers and enterprises must create greater competitive advantages for product prices, sweetness, color and other aspects.

Like potential durian products, China is currently developing more supply sources through different transportation methods. Therefore, if Vietnam wants to dominate the market, it needs to improve quality, reduce costs, and ensure product reputation.

Regarding the aquatic industry, Nguyen Huai nam, Deputy Secretary General of the Vietnam Aquatic Products Processing and Export Association (VASEP), revealed that from 2018 to 2022, Vietnam China aquatic trade has grown the strongest among major markets. China is currently the second largest aquatic product import market in Vietnam, second only to the United States.

The main aquatic products exported by Vietnam to China include shrimp, crabs, salmon, cuttlefish, cod, cod, and chayu. Among them, shrimp and Chayu are the most important export products. However, in the past period, due to a decrease in exports of these two types of products, the overall export value of aquatic products to China has decreased. VASEP believes that dried anchovies are becoming increasingly attractive to the Chinese market, and customs data shows that exports increased by 50% in the first quarter of 2023. The export value of many other products such as dried shrimp, frozen golden snapper, and frozen pit fish has grown strongly. This is a measure taken by enterprises to expand their export product categories to offset their export volume.

Chen Guanghui, Director of the Department of Asian and African Markets of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that in order to effectively develop the Chinese market, we must follow the trend of the Chinese market, especially at the current stage, China is putting forward the goal of achieving high-quality growth in almost all fields. This means that China will continuously put forward higher requirements for import and export commodity standards. This is an inevitable and irreversible trend that requires commodity production and exporters to make changes and adapt.

Therefore, relevant units should study and complete the registration procedures as soon as possible before exporting agricultural products and food to the Chinese market. At the same time, continue to cooperate with Chinese partners and diversify commodity export routes through various border ports, avoiding relying on one or two fixed border ports; Utilize sea transportation routes and multimodal railway transportation between Vietnam and China to minimize port congestion during peak hours.