Passion fruit exports to US market to bring back US$100 million each year

Vietnam ranks among the top 10 largest producers and exporters of passion fruit in the world, after Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. (Photo: Nafoods)

The Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the US Department of Agriculture have recently completed technical negotiations and are now moving on to legal procedures necessary to allow the import of Vietnamese passion fruit into the US market.

“The Vietnamese fruit has been exported to the European market for over a decade, therefore, it is not a significant challenge for Vietnamese enterprises to meet the standards of the US market,” said Ho Bao, director of Van Xuan Agri JSc in Dak Nong Province.

However, fresh Vietnamese fruits exported to the US must undergo irradiation treatment, which incurs a high cost – a factor that can impact their competitiveness compared to South American countries that benefit from logistical advantages in getting their products into the US.

In addition, passion fruit has a short shelf life, which currently prevents it from being shipped in containers by sea. Meanwhile, fresh passion fruit exported via air freight costs approximately US$3 per kilogram, reducing business competitiveness compared to South American rivals.

“The upcoming export of passion fruit to the US is encouraging news for farmers and businesses, as it will expand the market and increase export revenue for the fruit. If the issue of storage technology can be resolved, allowing passion fruit to be shipped to the US by sea and thus reducing shipping costs, its competitiveness will significantly improve,” Bao told thanhnien.vn.

Dang Phuc Nguyen, secretary-general of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association (Vinafruit), stated that passion fruit has consistently ranked among the top 10 high-value export fruits for many years. In 2023 alone, the export value of passion fruit reached over US$222 million. Currently, European countries are the largest market for frozen passion fruit products.

In his view, the US is also a significant market for fresh passion fruit and processed, frozen passion fruit products from Vietnam. He predicted that the annual export value of the fruit could reach between US$50 -100 million.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam currently has nearly 9,500 hectares of land under passion fruit cultivation, producing nearly 190,000 tonnes annually. Passion fruit is among the 18 fruit varieties with an annual production output exceeding 100,000 tonnes. Notably, 80% of the annual harvest is purchased by enterprises for processing and export.

Vietnam ranks among the top 10 largest producers and exporters of passion fruit in the world, after Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.

The Vietnamese fruit is being exported to markets with stringent quality, phytosanitary, and food safety requirements, such as Australia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, China, and Switzerland.

Nguyen Manh Hieu, head of the Post-Harvest Technology Department at the Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Post-Harvest Technology (VIAEP), said that passion fruit, along with durian, mango, and pomelo, is one of the four key fruit crops with significant export potential to the US and European countries.

Since 2020, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Swiss Government have implemented a US$1.5 million project to support Vietnam in enhancing its capacity to meet standards and quality requirements for its tropical fruit varieties, including passion fruit, to be exported to the US, European and Australian markets.

“Advanced preservation technologies will be applied to extend the shelf life of passion fruit from 35 to 50 days, meeting the requirements for sea transport to various markets,” said Hieu.