On the morning of October 25, Mini Digital Vietnam Investment and Trading Joint Stock Company - Ben Tre Branch coordinated with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to organize the Ceremony to announce the official export of Ben Tre fresh coconut to the Chinese market.
Mr. Doan Van Danh - Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Ben Tre province - said that in order to expand the market, in 2023, Vietnam submitted a dossier to open the market for fresh coconuts to the Chinese market. For nearly a year, the plant quarantine agencies of the two countries have had many technical exchanges to agree on handling measures.
After many negotiations, the plant quarantine agencies of the two sides have reached an agreement on the conditions for importing fresh coconuts from Vietnam to the Chinese market.
With the efforts of provincial and local departments and agencies, up to now, Ben Tre has had 133 coconut growing area codes and 14 packaging facilities granted export codes to the Chinese market.
Mr. Huynh Tan Dat - Director of the Plant Protection Department (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) said that Vietnam is currently the 6th country in the world in terms of coconut production, with about 1.9 million tons per year. Of which, Ben Tre province contributes a large part, reaching 688 million fruits in 2022.
According to Mr. Huynh Tan Dat, opening the Chinese market for fresh Vietnamese coconuts is a golden opportunity. With a population of more than 1.4 billion people and domestic demand meeting only about 10%, China is a large potential market for Vietnamese coconut products. It is expected that if this opportunity is well taken advantage of, coconut exports to China can bring in an additional 200-300 million USD in 2024 and contribute to bringing Vietnam's total coconut export turnover to the 1 billion USD mark in the near future.
“Ben Tre's official export of fresh coconuts to the Chinese market marks a new step forward in the continuous effort to expand the market and raise the position of Vietnamese agricultural products in the international arena,” said Mr. Huynh Tan Dat.
On this occasion, the Director of the Plant Protection Department called on all production, packaging and export units to strictly comply with regulations on food safety, quality standards and plant quarantine procedures as mentioned in the Protocol and related regulations.
Ben Tre is the province with the largest coconut area in the country, over 80,010 hectares, and has been increasing steadily in recent years. Ben Tre's fresh coconuts are famous for their characteristic sweet taste. Ben Tre green coconut products have been granted a certificate of trademark protection and a national certificate of geographical indication. Currently, Vietnamese fresh coconuts have been exported to 14 countries, with an export output of more than 26.7 million fruits/year.
