Vietnamese jackfruit has the potential to become a billion-dollar export commodity

Vietnamese jackfruit has advantages: large cultivation area, stable production output, and growing demand in international markets. Therefore, it has strong potential to become a billion-dollar export commodity in the future.

According to official statistics, the export value of Vietnamese jackfruit reached more than USD 38 million in April 2026. This figure was up 75% from the previous month and 28% higher than in the same period of 2025.

In the first four months of the year, Vietnamese jackfruit exports totaled more than USD 112 million. Accordingly, they represented a year-on-year increase of 6.6%. The product accounted for approximately 5.5% of Vietnam’s total fruit and vegetable export value and ranked among the country’s top 10 fruit and vegetable export items.

China remains the leading market for Vietnam’s jackfruit. The country primarily imports jackfruit from Vietnam and Thailand. Yellow-fleshed Thai jackfruit (Chanrai jackfruit) is the most popular variety, alongside several red-fleshed cultivars. In addition to fresh consumption, a large share of imported jackfruit are raw materials for processing dried jackfruit, jackfruit powder, and various other food products.

Vietnamese jackfruit

Vietnam currently has around 84,000 hectares of jackfruit cultivation, of which approximately 56,000 hectares are in the harvesting stage. These areas produce nearly one million tons of Vietnamese jackfruit annually. Notably, about 85% of the country’s specialized jackfruit-growing is early-maturing Thai jackfruit varieties. These varieties serve as the primary source for fresh fruit exports.

A major milestone for the industry came on June 1, 2026, when fresh Vietnamese jackfruit officially entered into the Chinese market. This happened through formal export channels following the issuance of phytosanitary regulations by the General Administration of Customs of China. Prior to that, in 2025, Vietnam and China had signed five export protocols covering chili peppers, passion fruit, rice bran, raw bird’s nests, and fresh jackfruit.

The approval is a significant breakthrough, which will unlock substantial growth opportunities for Vietnam’s jackfruit enterprises. It is also likely to help address many of the challenges faced by jackfruit growers in recent years.

According to industry experts, gaining official access to the Chinese market through formal trade channels will provide a strong growth impetus for the entire sector. In addition to expanding market access, it creates opportunities to increase export value. It also helps attract investment in raw material production areas and standardize cultivation practices in line with the requirements of importing markets.

Under the new regulations, only orchards and packing facilities that have been registered, inspected, and assigned identification codes by the competent authorities of both Vietnam and China are eligible to export. The government will publish and update list of approved entities on its official information portal.

Frozen jackfruit from Vietnam

To date, Vietnam has 16 fruit and vegetable products officially permitted for export to China through formal channels. Among them, 11 products are eligible to export by bilateral export protocols. These include watermelon, mangosteen, mesona, fresh durian, frozen durian, fresh coconut, fresh banana, sweet potato, chili pepper, passion fruit, and jackfruit.

During the first ten months of 2025, Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable exports to China exceeded USD 4.5 billion. This represented an increase of more than 10% compared with the same period of the previous year. The strong performance underscores China’s continued importance as the largest export market for Vietnamese fruits and vegetables. It also highlights the growing opportunities for products such as Vietnamese jackfruit to expand their presence in the market.

In reality, domestic jackfruit prices have remained significantly lower than in previous years. The primary reason has been difficulties in export activities, particularly inspections related to cadmium residues and Auramine O contamination. These issues have prolonged customs clearance procedures. As a result, some shipments have been flagged or rejected, causing excess supply to be redirected to the domestic market. This has put considerable downward pressure on prices.

Dried jackfruit from Vietnam

China’s decision to officially open its market to fresh Vietnamese jackfruit is therefore likely to help alleviate many of the challenges that growers have faced in recent years.

Beyond China, many experts believe that substantial export potential remains in premium markets such as Japan, South Korea, and the Middle East. Current consumer trends increasingly favor tropical fruits that are rich in fiber, naturally sweet, and highly nutritious. As a result, Vietnamese jackfruit will be able to meet these preferences.

In addition to its economic value, jackfruit is as a crop with strong resilience to climate change. The tree can thrive under a wide range of environmental conditions and tolerates drought well. It is also relatively resistant to pests and diseases and requires limited maintenance once mature. For these reasons, some experts have described jackfruit as a potential “crop of the future” in an era of increasingly frequent extreme weather events.

Its adaptability has attracted growing interest worldwide. In the United States, for example, several jackfruit varieties have been successfully cultivated and propagated in the state of Florida. This demonstrates the crop’s potential beyond its traditional tropical growing regions.