Reaping nearly 3 billion USD in just the first 5 months of 2026, Vietnam's fruit and vegetable industry is proving its strong appeal in China.

According to the Agency of Foreign Trade (under the Ministry of Industry and Trade), China's fruit and vegetable market since the beginning of this year has recorded multiple notable changes under the impact of policies aimed at enhancing supply self-sufficiency and tightening technical requirements for imported goods.

Citing the China Agricultural Outlook Report (2026–2035), the management agency stated that this market continues to expand high-tech fruit and vegetable production, particularly for temperate and subtropical fruits such as blueberries, grapes, and cherries.

However, demand for tropical fruits like durian, fresh coconut, and jackfruit remains at a high level, helping China's fruit and vegetable imports reach 8.04 billion USD in the first 4 months of the year, a 3.7% increase compared to the same period last year.

Within the import structure, durian continues to be the flagship commodity with 356,270 tons, valued at 1.7 billion USD, soaring by over 200% over the same period. Thailand remains the largest supplier, while Vietnam ranks second with nearly 62,900 tons.

Notably, China has sharply increased fruit and vegetable imports from Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Russia. Vietnam's market share within China's total fruit and vegetable import turnover expanded from 11.71% to 14.54% during the first 4 months of the year.

The Agency of Foreign Trade noted that alongside market expansion opportunities, China is also tightening import management. The General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) has officially enforced a policy tightening legal documentation for 2,589 products across 20 agricultural industry groups (encompassing all fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, and spices such as chili, pepper, cinnamon, etc.).

Accordingly, for goods to clear customs, they mandatory require a confirmation letter and a foreign manufacturer registration code that match precisely on the customs declaration. GACC is shifting decisively from volume inspections to strict quarantine risk assessments directly at border gates.

The management agency evaluates that China will remain a massive and highly potential export market for Vietnamese fruits and vegetables in the coming time. However, the capacity to capitalize on these opportunities will rely heavily on satisfying standards regarding quality, traceability, plant protection chemical residues, and transparency in packaging and preservation.

Regarding the fruit and vegetable export situation, citing data from the General Department of Customs, the Agency of Foreign Trade stated that Vietnam's fruit and vegetable export turnover in May reached 614.8 million USD, a minor dip of 0.3% compared to the same period last year. Cumulatively for the first 5 months, fruit and vegetable exports reached approximately 2.98 billion USD, a 29.4% surge compared to the same period in 2025.

On the other hand, the agency assesses that the export structure continues to shift toward increasing the proportion of processed products. In the first 4 months of the year, the processed goods group accounted for 35.82% of the total fruit and vegetable export turnover, climbing sharply from the 29.33% level recorded in the same period last year, contributing to elevating added value and reducing reliance on seasonality.

growth. Among them, fresh and frozen durian led the pack with a turnover of 293.13 million USD in the first 4 months of the year, up 59.7% over the same period, driven by off-season advantages, the expansion of growing area codes, and frozen durian exports.

In addition, pistachio exports witnessed a sudden spike of 204.6%, reaching 224.63 million USD. Exports of coconut and coconut-based products reached 198.38 million USD, an increase of 14.9% compared to the same period last year.

Certain fruits like dragon fruit, jackfruit, and passion fruit also sustained growth thanks to stable demand from China, the US, and South Korea. Meanwhile, pomelo and lime are evaluated to hold substantial room for growth now that Vietnam has signed a Protocol for formal export to China and shipped its first batch of pomelos to Australia, establishing a solid foundation to expand market reach in the upcoming period.

Source: Bao dien tu Dan Tri