In the first seven months of the year, Vietnam’s export turnover of processed fruits and vegetables exceeded USD 1 billion, up 35% year-on-year, accounting for 26% of total fruit and vegetable exports — the highest proportion ever recorded.
According to data from the General Department of Customs, processed coconut remained the key product, bringing in over USD 203 million during the seven-month period, a 57% increase. Other products such as mango, pistachio, almond, and passion fruit also achieved revenues ranging from USD 64 million to over USD 100 million each, representing growth rates between 4% and 86% compared to last year.
Dang Phuc Nguyen, Secretary General of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association (Vinafruit), noted that a significant difference this year is that the growth rate of processed products has far outpaced that of fresh produce, which dropped by 10.3% — a rare trend in previous years.
He explained that enterprises have boldly invested in new factories and modern production lines, expanded specialized farming zones, and improved raw material quality to meet increasingly strict import market requirements. “Processed fruits and vegetables not only help stabilize domestic agricultural prices but also increase value by three to five times compared to fresh produce while extending shelf life,” he said.
Major markets such as the EU, the US, Japan, and South Korea continue to drive growth, while China is emerging as a promising destination. In 2024, the two countries signed protocols for frozen durian and fresh coconut exports. By April 2025, four additional protocols were signed, allowing official exports of chili, passion fruit, bird’s nests, and rice bran. These agreements have helped diversify product offerings, encourage deeper processing investment, and stabilize raw material supplies.
This upward trend has also had a positive impact on the domestic market. Prices of coconuts, mangoes, bananas, and dragon fruit have remained stable for seven consecutive months, avoiding the recurring situation of “bumper crops, price drops.” Durian — a key export to China — has also rebounded strongly as Vietnamese enterprises have better complied with new phytosanitary regulations.
From the business perspective, many major processing companies are expanding investments to meet growing demand. WestFood Joint Stock Company for Export Food Processing recently launched the WestFood Hau Giang Agricultural Processing Plant — the largest of its kind in the Mekong Delta — covering 7 hectares, with a total investment of VND 666 billion and an annual capacity of 30,000 tons of finished products.
According to Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet, Chairwoman and CEO of WestFood, the new factory not only boosts production capacity but also enables the company to diversify its product range — from canned fruits, individually quick frozen (IQF) products, and semi-dried fruits to juices — thereby enhancing its competitiveness in global markets.
To ensure stable raw material supply, WestFood has developed its own 150-hectare King MD2 pineapple farming area in Hau Giang and cooperates with multiple cooperatives and farmers in the region. The company hopes that improvements to logistics infrastructure in the Mekong Delta — particularly the completion of the Tran De Seaport in Soc Trang — will soon reduce transport costs and delivery times.
By the end of July, WestFood’s revenue had exceeded its seven-month plan by 10%, equivalent to 58% of its annual target. This strong performance was driven by surging demand for processed fruits and vegetables both domestically and internationally. However, Ms. Nguyet acknowledged that the biggest challenges for the processed fruit and vegetable sector now lie in increasingly stringent technical, environmental, and ESG standards. Companies must invest heavily in technology, traceability, and quality management — a challenge but also an opportunity to upgrade the entire value chain.
Agricultural experts forecast that the 2026–2030 period will mark a breakthrough for Vietnam’s processed fruit and vegetable industry, as China continues to open its market to more processed fruits while the US and Europe increase demand for “green” and sustainable products. If Vietnam can effectively leverage the signed export protocols and combine them with investments in deep processing technology and standardized raw material zones, the country could sustain double-digit annual growth, making processed fruits and vegetables a stable billion-dollar export sector — no longer overly dependent on fresh produce exports as in the past.
