Besides "hot" items such as durian, coffee or rice, recently the agricultural export industry has had many new "stars".

The recent seasonal rains have made the heat in the South and Central Highlands less stressful. Many fruit gardens worth billions of dollars were watered, making garden owners breathe a sigh of relief.

Export prices of pepper, rubber, vegetables and fruits increased rapidly

In Ea Tu commune (Buon Ma Thuot city, Dak Lak), Mr. Y Drin Nie excitedly shared: My garden has more than 1 hectare of intercropping with 3 types of durian, coffee and pepper. Last year durian hit the price and then came the coffee price fever. Since the beginning of May until now, pepper prices have continuously increased, making people here very happy. Before the April 30 holiday, the price of pepper was only 96,000 - 97,000 VND/kg, but now it has reached over 110,000 VND/kg.

Exported lotus root, a new item in the fruit and vegetable group

"Thanks to not being under economic pressure like before and learning from the recent coffee price fever, I, like many people here, are not in a hurry to sell pepper after harvest; instead, we temporarily store it, so selling it now is also profitable. Additional profit of at least 15,000 VND/kg. Now I just hope that in the next 3 months when the durian harvest begins, the price will still remain at 50,000 - 60,000 VND/kg so that farmers will basically have a successful year. If farming continues like this, people will feel secure in production," Mr. Nie is optimistic.

Currently, the popular pepper price is 111,000 - 112,000 VND/kg, an increase of 30,000 VND/kg compared to the beginning of this year and is also the highest price in recent years. According to the Vietnam Pepper and Spice Association, in the first 4 months of 2024, pepper exports reached nearly 84,000 tons, with a turnover of 353 million USD; Although it decreased by over 18% in volume, it increased by 11.5% in turnover compared to the same period in 2023.

"The technical negotiation process for fresh coconut exports to the Chinese market is basically completed. Currently we are just waiting for leaders at all levels to officially sign the Protocol for export activities to officially begin. Besides fresh coconuts, there are also frozen durian products." According to: Mr. Huynh Tan Dat (Director of Plant Protection Department)

The average export price of pepper over the past 4 months has continuously increased. In the first 4 months of 2024, the average export pepper price reached 4,214 USD/ton, up 36.4% over the same period last year. Vietnam is the world's largest pepper exporter. In recent years, pepper area has continuously decreased, plus this year the heat has been particularly intense, causing prolonged drought affecting output. This year's output forecast is only about 170,000 tons, down 10% compared to last year and the lowest level in the last 5 years. Not only Vietnam, the situation is similar to other pepper growing regions in the world.

In the agricultural and forestry products industry, rubber products also have strong growth in both quantity and price. In the first quarter, Vietnam's rubber exports reached over 414,000 tons, worth more than 607 million USD; up 8.5% in volume and up to 14.3% in value over the same period in 2023. The average export rubber price reached 1,487 USD/ton, up 6.9%. According to experts, rubber prices increase due to scarce supply and increased demand in the world market, especially the Chinese market. At the Shanghai trading floor (China), at the end of March; Natural rubber prices increase by 17.6% over the same period in 2023. The Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) forecasts that global natural rubber output in 2024 will reach 14.54 million tons; increase of 1.6% compared to 2023. In the opposite direction, global natural rubber consumption in 2024 will reach 15.67 million tons, an increase of 3%.

Besides, in the first quarter, many exported fruits and vegetables grew strongly in both quantity and price compared to the same period last year. Specifically, jackfruit exports reached 81 million USD, an increase of 46%, mango exports reached 76 million USD, an increase of nearly 47%, watermelon reached 56 million USD, an increase of 66%... some items increased by 3 digits such as: coconut reached a turnover of over 45 million USD; increased by nearly 113%, longan reached 7.3 million USD, an increase of 160%, macadamia nuts reached 6 million USD, an increase of 114%, almonds reached nearly 6 million USD, an increase of 274%.

The price of tomatoes doubled

Recently, the prices of some fruit and vegetable products in the Ho Chi Minh City market have increased sharply. Specifically, the price of tomatoes doubled, to 45,000 - 50,000 VND/kg, depending on the type. Besides, some leafy vegetables such as ash umbrella cost 50,000 - 60,000 VND/kg, watercress 120,000 VND/kg; Onions, spices, lemons, chili... are commonly priced from 60,000 - 90,000 VND/kg, an increase of about 15,000 - 20,000 VND/kg compared to before Tet. The reason is the unusual heat, especially in some vegetable growing areas in the West, where there is a lack of fresh water for irrigation, causing many vegetable gardens to fail to produce output, leading to local shortages.

Many "rookies" open the market

Recently, the export fruit and vegetable industry welcomed a new member, lotus root products, when Dong Thap province completed the export of 15 tons of frozen lotus roots from the province to the Japanese market.

Pepper prices increased sharply and reached their highest level in recent years

Mr. Nguyen Minh Thien, Factory Director of Dai Viet Lotus Food Joint Stock Company - the unit exporting lots of lotus roots; said that after this first shipment, it is expected that the Japanese partner will import 8 more containers with a total value of about 7 billion VND. Mr. Nguyen Xuan Thang, Vice Chairman of Dong Thap Province Lotus Industry Association; Optimistically, the lotus variety exported is a variety that can be grown throughout the Western provinces and harvested all year round, with a yield of 5-7 tons/ha/crop (4 months). Currently, the consumption demand for lotus roots in the Japanese market is about 100,000 tons/year, while China's is up to 2 million tons/year.

The entire Dong Thap province currently has about 1,800 hectares of lotus, with output only about 1,500 tons/year. Lotus roots grown according to the process are sold at a price of 20,000 VND/kg, with an estimated profit of 40 - 45 million VND/ha for each crop.

Among the group of promising export products, one must mention a product with high potential and great opportunity: fresh coconut. This year, with intense heat, fresh coconut exports not only increased by three digits, but the price of fresh coconuts at the garden also increased by 50 - 60%, to 110,000 - 120,000 VND/dozen (12 fruits). At the present time, although there has been a lot of rain throughout the country, the heat is still there, so the consumption of fresh coconuts is still very good, with an average price of about 15,000 VND/fruit. During the recent holidays of April 30 and May 1, even the price of smoked coconuts increased to 20,000 VND/fruit, double the price of previous years.

"The technical negotiation process for fresh coconut exports to the Chinese market is basically completed. Currently we are just waiting for leaders at all levels to officially sign the Protocol for export activities to officially begin. Besides fresh coconut, there are also frozen durian products. The signing of the Protocol will open up huge opportunities for Vietnam's fresh coconuts in this important market," said Director of the Plant Protection Department (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) Huynh Tan Dat.

Rice prices are about to increase

On May 15, the Thai Rice Exporters Association (TREA) said the export price of 5% broken rice increased by 35 USD to 649 USD/ton, the highest level since the beginning of the year. The reason is limited supply and high demand from Indonesia, Brazil and some other countries because of serious natural disasters affecting rice supply. In Vietnam, the Vietnam Food Association (VFA) has not yet updated, but according to some rice exporters in the Mekong Delta, over the weekend the price increased by about 10 USD/ton, up to around 600 USD/ton.

Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper