Vietnam’s passion fruit exports are experiencing “rapid” growth as export turnover soars past $202 million, setting a new record. From being a relatively new crop, passion fruit is gradually becoming a highly promising agricultural sector.
According to the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection, over the past 10 years, Vietnam’s passion fruit exports have grown “rapidly.” More specifically, they increased from $20 million to $222.5 million. As of October this year, passion fruit export turnover had reached more than $202 million.
Vietnam’s passion fruit exports
Currently, the Central Highlands is the “capital” of Vietnam’s passion fruit exports in the country. It accounts for 86.4% of the cultivation area and 92.5% of production. In the meanwhile, the Northern region accounts for 12.5% of the area. Recently, authorities have approved 43 passion fruit varieties to meet the increasing demand for production and export.
A representative from the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection stated that passion fruit in Vietnam benefits from favorable terrain, soil, and climate conditions. When cultivated in the Central Highlands and certain other regions, the crop has a short growth cycle (4–5 months) and achieves high yields. The market is also broad, with diverse demand. Over 80% of this demand consists of processed and fresh passion fruits.
However, the Vietnamese passion fruit industry faces several challenges. They include managing disease-free varieties, small-scale fragmented production, and incomplete advanced cultivation techniques. Also, the value chain remains loosely connected.
In addition, preservation and deep-processing technologies are not synchronized, and supply is unstable. Meanwhile, technical barriers and international quarantine requirements are becoming increasingly strict.
Vietnamese passion fruit farm
According to the “Key fruit crop development Plan for 2025–2030,” Vietnam’s passion fruit is targeted to become a sustainably developed sector. The plan aims to maintain 12,000–15,000 hectares and a production volume of 250,000–300,000 tons. Development will focus on key provinces such as Lam Dong, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Quang Tri, Nghe An, and Son La.
To achieve this goal, local authorities need to review cultivation areas and establish concentrated production zones linked with infrastructure and processing facilities. They also need to control uncontrolled expansion and encourage cooperatives to link with Vietnamese fruit businesses. This will allow production under contracts, following safety and traceability standards.
In addition, the sector needs to remove quarantine barriers to expand markets. It also aims to elevate the brand of Vietnam’s passion fruit exports on the global agricultural map.
Vietnamese source: https://thesaigontimes.vn/chanh-leo-tang-truong-than-toc-lap-ky-luc-xuat-khau-hon-202-trieu-do-la/