Fruit, vegetable exports rise 17.8% in H1

Shipments were worth $2.18 billion in the second quarter alone, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.

The ministry forecast that abundant supplies and stable market demand will help fruit and vegetable exports maintain their growth momentum throughout 2026 while placing little pressure on domestic prices.

The Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association said durian, now exported to 28 markets worldwide, generated nearly $562 million in the first five months of 2026, up around 46% from a year ago, making it the country's top fruit export.

Vietnam has about 192,000 hectares under durian, with output expected to increase from 1.8 million tonnes in 2025 to 2-2.1 million tonnes this year, according to the Crop Production and Plant Protection Department.

Durians in the Mekong Delta region, Vietnam. Photo by Manh Khuong

Meanwhile, exports of lychees and coconuts also posted double-digit growth thanks to strong demand from major markets, including China, the U.S. and the South Korea.

Nguyen Quoc Manh, the department's deputy director, said China remains the largest market for Vietnamese fruit and vegetable exports. In recent years, shipments to the country have grown by around 65-70% annually, making the industry's development closely tied to maintaining and expanding market access there.

The ministry is negotiating market access for more fruits in high-value markets such as the U.S., Japan, South Korea and Australia to diversify and reduce dependence on a single market.

Manh said Vietnam's fruit and vegetable industry has undergone a shift in its growth model. The sector is now focusing on improving quality, increasing added value and promoting sustainable development as there is limited room for further expansion of cultivation areas.

He said increasingly stringent quality and food safety requirements imposed by importing markets, particularly the European Union, China and other high-value markets, pose the biggest challenge for the industry.

Rising input costs driven by global economic and geopolitical uncertainties are also putting pressure on producers and businesses, he noted.

Over the next five years, the ministry plans to step up research into and breeding of fruit and vegetable varieties suited to domestic production and market demand. The sector will also promote deep processing, expand export markets and implement a low-emission crop production strategy for 2025-2035 aimed at building a greener, more competitive and sustainable fruit and vegetable industry while improving farmers' incomes, Manh added.