“A Vietnamese Delicacy Gains Global Recognition: From China to the US and Beyond”

During his working visit to the US on August 27, 2024, Deputy Minister Hoàng Trung and the delegation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development had a working session with Deputy Minister Hafemeister and representatives of relevant agencies of the US Department of Agriculture. The two sides reached an important agreement on exporting Vietnamese dragon fruit to the US market.

According to statistics, Vietnam has become the third largest exporter of dragon fruit in the world, after Peru and Brazil. Before receiving its “visa” to the US, Vietnamese dragon fruit was already exported to demanding markets with stringent quality, quarantine, and food safety requirements, such as South Korea, China, Australia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.

In Vietnam, Nafoods Group Joint Stock Company (code: NAF) is the most well-known name in dragon fruit exports in Asia, with a production volume accounting for 10% of the global market share. In addition to dragon fruit, the company also leverages its expertise in tropical fruits such as dragon fruit, mango, pineapple, coconut, and papaya, offering a diverse range of products including dried fruit, concentrated fruit juice, and frozen fruit.

Currently, Nafoods has established a chain of factories located throughout Vietnam, including the provinces of Nghe An, Long An, Son La, and Gia Lai, with a total capacity of 40,000 tons of products per year. In Gia Lai alone, Nafoods is permitted to expand its linked material area with farmers up to 3,000 hectares.

With the advantage of a closed value chain, from seedlings to processing and exporting, Nafoods has consistently achieved business growth in recent years. In 2023, NAF recorded a slight decrease in revenue of 1.733 trillion VND, a 2% dip, but posted a record after-tax profit of 110 billion VND, a 37.5% increase compared to the previous year. The gross profit margin improved significantly from 21.3% to over 27%.

Looking ahead to 2024, Nafoods anticipates challenges and risks in its production and business activities. The company faces high and volatile prices for raw materials and increasing competitive pressure in the context of uncertain global trade, which is expected to impact profit margins.

However, Nafoods has set ambitious business plans for 2024, targeting a revenue of 2.200 trillion VND and an after-tax profit of 129 billion VND, representing growth of 27% and 17%, respectively, compared to the previous year. If the company achieves these goals, it will break its profit record once again.

In the first half of this year, Nafoods recorded a revenue of 752 billion VND and an after-tax profit of nearly 65 billion VND, an 11% decrease and a 5.3% increase, respectively, compared to the same period in 2023. With these results, the company has achieved 34% of its revenue plan and 50% of its profit target for the year.

In the stock market, following the news that its flagship product, dragon fruit, has received its “visa” to the US, NAF stock soared to 19,200 VND/share, the highest in 28 months since April 2022. Compared to the beginning of the year, the share price has increased by 25%. The corresponding market capitalization reached nearly thousand billion VND.