Fresh fruit exports to China show strong growth potential

Farmers in Gia Kiem Commune tend to a banana plantation destined for export.

Recently, Vietnam and China signed additional phytosanitary protocols, officially opening China's market to more categories of Vietnamese fresh fruit through formal export channels. The agreements provide a major opportunity to expand exports of fresh agricultural products to the market of more than 1.4 billion consumers.

China remains Vietnam's largest fruit export market

According to the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, the fruit and vegetable industry has been one of Vietnam's fastest-growing agricultural sectors in recent years, with China remaining its largest export destination. To date, more than 20 varieties of Vietnamese fruits and vegetables have been approved for export to China. Bilateral export protocols now cover products including durian, mangosteen, jackfruit, bananas, coconuts, passion fruit, sweet potatoes, black jelly, and frozen durian.

Durian has recorded the strongest growth. Between 2021 and 2025, Vietnam exported nearly 190,000 tonnes of frozen durian and more than 3 million tonnes of fresh durian to 28 countries, with China accounting for over 95% of total export volume. Jackfruit has also become a major export product. Vietnam exports more than 3.2 million tonnes of jackfruit annually, with China absorbing approximately 99% of total exports.

Exporters say that while Vietnam benefits from favorable climatic conditions and close geographic proximity to China, agricultural production must adapt rapidly to meet increasingly stringent import requirements. Building sustainable supply chains, from seed selection and production areas to harvesting, storage, processing, and distribution, has become essential.

China is currently Vietnam's largest market for agricultural, forestry, and fishery products. In 2025, Vietnam's fruit and vegetable exports to China reached USD5.5 billion, accounting for 64% of the country's total fruit and vegetable export value. During the same year, Vietnam became China's second-largest supplier of fruits and vegetables, capturing more than 22.5% of the market.

Although widely recognized as an industrial hub, Dong Nai is also among Vietnam's leading exporters of industrial crops and fruit. The city currently has more than 513,300 hectares of perennial industrial crops and nearly 104,000 hectares of fruit orchards, with several specialty fruits enjoying strong export advantages.

Durian is now among the most profitable fruit crops. Dong Nai is rapidly expanding its durian-growing area, which now exceeds 23,000 hectares, with output nearing 250,000 tonnes. With approximately 21,000 hectares under tissue-cultured bananas, Dong Nai has Vietnam's largest cultivation area for this crop, producing more than 900,000 tonnes annually. Dong Nai also has nearly 11,000 hectares of pomelo orchards, with annual output approaching 163,000 tonnes, making it one of the largest pomelo-producing areas in the Southern region. Mango is also a key crop in many localities, with specialty varieties such as Hoa Loc, Australian, and Taiwanese mangoes helping generate high economic returns across a total cultivation area of nearly 12,000 hectares.

Expanding presence in the world's largest market

Dong Nai possesses favorable conditions for developing specialized fruit-growing areas targeting the Chinese market. Recognizing the enormous market potential, local enterprises, cooperatives, and farmers have increasingly focused on standardizing cultivation areas for large-scale commercial production, upgrading packing facilities, and improving product traceability to meet export requirements.

For bananas alone, Dong Nai has established 54 officially registered growing-area codes covering nearly 7,300 hectares, along with 37 certified export packing facilities, most of which serve the Chinese market. According to several enterprises currently accelerating the replication of specialized export banana zones in Dong Nai, fresh fruit export operations in general, and bananas in particular, face numerous challenges in 2026. The greatest hurdles lie in rising input costs, especially soaring transport expenses and intensifying competitive pressures in the export market. Nonetheless, many enterprises remain bold in investing to expand the scale of banana-exporting zones. This is because Vietnamese fruits, including bananas, are increasingly well-regarded in international markets for their quality.

Dong Nai also benefits from a strong presence of agricultural processing enterprises, providing additional opportunities for value-added exports. According to Dinh Cao Khue, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, processed agricultural products will offer the greatest growth potential in the coming years. Chinese companies are showing strong demand for concentrated fruit juices, fruit beverages, frozen fruits and vegetables, canned products, and raw materials for the food-processing industry. These processed products generate higher added value and enjoy stable year-round demand because they are less dependent on seasonal harvests than fresh fruit.