The export value of Vietnamese vegetables and fruits reached USD 8.2 billion by mid-December

In the first half of December 2025, the export value of Vietnamese vegetables and fruits nearly 400 million USD. This brought the total export value from the beginning of the year to mid-December to 8.2 billion USD. Based on this momentum, the export value for the entire month will reach around 795 million USD. This would bring the total annual fruit and vegetable exports to approximately 8.59 billion USD. This represents an increase of nearly 20% compared to 2024.

On the other hand, fruit and vegetable imports for the whole of 2025 are estimated at around 3 billion USD. It means that Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable sector will have a trade surplus of over 5.5 billion USD. This is a very high surplus and further affirms the sector’s role as a key pillar in the country’s agricultural export structure.

In the overall picture of Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable exports in 2025, the Chinese market continues to play the largest role. In the first 11 months of the year, exports to China reached nearly 5 billion USD. This was up 15% compared to the same period last year and accounted for 64% of the sector’s total export value.

Vietnamese vegetables and fruits

Notably, despite the impact of tariff policies, exports to the U.S. market recorded very high growth. They increased by 56% over the 11-month period to reach around 500 million USD. In addition, several other markets maintained export values of over 100 million USD. They included South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and the Netherlands. This highlights the growing potential to expand export markets for Vietnamese vegetables and fruits.

Mr. Đặng Phúc Nguyên is the Secretary General of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association (Vinafruit). He said at the beginning of 2025, fruit and vegetable exports faced many difficulties. Especially, technical barriers affected key export products in the Chinese market such as durian. Also, the tariff poolicies from the United States had certain impacts. However, thanks to the flexible interventions of the Government, along with the adaptive efforts of businesses, fruit and vegetable export turnover accelerated strongly in the second half of the year.

According to Vinafruit, in the first 10 months of the year, durian exports reached 3.34 billion USD, up 10.3% compared to the same period last year. This accounted for 47.28% of the Vietnam’s total fruit and vegetable export value. This figure highlights the high concentration on a single key product and underscores the importance of durian in the current export structure.

Frozen passion fruit juice from Vietnam

Among other fruit categories, the picture is more mixed. Dragon fruit reached 434.17 million USD over 10 months, remaining almost flat compared to the same period last year and accounting for 6.15% of total exports. Vietnamese bananas performed more positively, reaching 335.95 million USD, up 10.1%. Mango exports reached 240.79 million USD, increasing by 14%.

Conversely, some fruits have clearly slowed down. Jackfruit reached only 148.41 million USD in 10 months, down 25.1% year-on-year. Longan exports totaled 48.04 million USD, down 13.1%. This reflects the growing competitive pressures and increasingly stringent technical requirements faced by traditional fruit varieties.

In addition to the key products, 2025 also recorded very strong growth in several smaller-scale products with high growth rates. Pistachios reached 76.42 million USD, up 163.6%. Vietnamese lychee reached 73.28 million USD, increasing by 310.7% year-on-year. Although each of these products still accounts for only about 1% of total export value, their rapid growth indicates significant potential for expansion. Moreover, this potential depends on maintaining quality standards and stable markets.

The fresh vegetable and herb category, while smaller in scale, also maintained growth momentum. In the first 10 months, exports reached 351.88 million USD, up 14.3% compared to the same period last year. This accounted for nearly 5% of total fruit and vegetable exports. Chili peppers were the largest item in this group, reaching 95.24 million USD, up 21.2%.

Vietnamese ginger exports reached 26.88 million USD, up 34.7%. Notably, garlic exports reached 19.39 million USD, increasing by as much as 101% year-on-year, despite still representing a very small share of the total.

Within this group, Vietnam’s processed pineapple led with 292.06 million USD, up 55.8%. The export value of processed passion fruit reached 150.60 million USD, up 35.3%. Also, processed pistachios reached 147.29 million USD, up 32.3%. Additionallly, processed almonds grew strongly by 87.1%, reaching 129.88 million USD.

Vietnamese dried jackfruit

The growth of the processed segment shows that the “value-added” component in Vietnamese vegetables and fruits is increasingly significant. This helps reduce dependence on fresh exports and enhances resilience to market fluctuations.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, Vinafruit, and many Vietnamese fruit enterprises all regard 2025 as a “breakthrough” year for the fruit and vegetable sector. However, this growth was not automatic. The industry faced a series of strict requirements from the beginning of the year, including regulations on growing area codes, traceability, residue control, and food safety.

Many companies had to adjust their pre-processing, packaging, storage, and warehousing procedures to meet the new standards. This “standardization” process allowed numerous shipments to pass technical barriers. It also laid the foundation for strong growth in the second half of the year.

According to Mr. Đặng Phúc Nguyên, the rapid and timely involvement of the Government —especially during peak fruit export periods—was a key factor. It enabled the fruit and vegetable sector to maintain growth and achieve a record-setting third consecutive year. From 3.34 billion USD in 2022 to 5.6 billion USD in 2023, and 7.2 billion USD in 2024, the sector made significant progress to surpass 8.5 billion USD for the first time in 2025. This set the stage for even higher targets in the years ahead.