The "comeback"
In the mid-March dry season, the fresh coconut market in the Mekong Delta (Mekong Delta) region increased significantly in price. In many localities, Siamese green, Siamese fire, and strawberry coconut varieties are purchased by traders at gardens ranging from 40,000 - 50,000 VND/dozen, depending on the size and quality of the fruit. Compared to the time before the Lunar New Year, this price has more than doubled. Previously, in many areas such as Chau Thanh and My Tho, coconut prices sometimes fell to only 17,000 - 20,000 VND/dozen, causing many gardeners to fall into difficulty selling.
Mr. Vo Van Minh - a coconut collector in Dong Thap - said: "Before Tet, coconuts were cheap but still difficult to sell". The current price increase of fresh coconuts mainly comes from seasonal factors. Prolonged hot weather has caused the demand for natural soft drinks to increase sharply, in which fresh coconuts are considered high-end products, good for health. However, according to many traders, the current price is actually not higher than the same period last year.
Lessons from varieties and value chains
Experts believe that the current diễn biến of coconut prices still leaves many regrettable things. According to M.A. Nguyen Phuoc Tuyen - former Director of Dong Thap Agricultural Extension Center - in the context that the regional market is "thirsty" for coconuts, there is still room for Vietnamese coconut prices to increase, especially when export demand is increasingly expanding.
Vietnam currently has more than 200,000 hectares of coconuts, mainly concentrated in the Mekong Delta. The export turnover of coconuts and coconut products reaches over 1.1 billion USD/year, of which more than 65% is fresh coconut for drinking. However, Vietnam's coconut market share in the international market is still quite modest. For example, in China - the world's largest consumer market - in 2025 it imported more than 1.1 million tons of fresh coconuts, but Vietnam only accounted for about 8% of the market share, much lower than Indonesia and Thailand. Not only limited in output, the value of Vietnamese coconuts is also significantly lower. The core cause, according to experts, lies in unstable quality.
Dr. Tran Minh Hai - Vice Rector of the School of Public Policy and Rural Development (Vietnam National University of Agriculture) - said that Vietnam currently has two main coconut groups: oil coconut (fire coconut, straw coconut, Tam Quan coconut...) and water coconut (mainly Siamese green coconut). These two groups have completely different characteristics. However, in many localities, these two coconut groups are intercropped. Due to cross-pollinating characteristics, long-term planting reduces variety purity, causing fruit quality to be uneven.
Meanwhile, Thailand organizes production more methodically. Exported water coconuts are grown according to specialized varieties, in separate raw material areas, with planting area codes and strict quality control.
The story of Vietnamese fresh coconuts not being able to achieve high prices is not only a problem for farmers but also a problem for the entire industry value chain with needs for clear planning of growing areas, separating the drinking coconut and oil coconut areas, and at the same time protecting coconut gardens with high purity. Building planting area codes, tracing origins and linking production through cooperatives are also important factors to improve product value... When the value chain is well organized, coconuts will not only be sold at market prices but also valued by the quality, brand and reputation of Vietnamese agriculture.
