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Vietnam boasts an abundance of tropical fruits, with many bringing in billions of dollars annually from exports. The US is one of the largest export markets for Vietnamese fruits and vegetables, and dragon fruit, mango, lychee, longan, rambutan, jackfruit, grapefruit, and coconut are among those that have already gained entry into this market. The latest addition to this list is passion fruit.
Vietnamese Passion Fruit Exports to the US
During his working visit to the US on August 27, 2024, Deputy Minister Hoang Trung, along with a delegation from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, met with US Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Jason Hafemeister and representatives from relevant US agencies.
The two sides reached a significant agreement to allow the entry of fresh passion fruit from Vietnam into the US market. They also agreed to diversify quarantine procedures to reduce costs and enhance the competitiveness of Vietnamese fruits in the US market.
According to statistics, Vietnam has quickly become the third largest exporter of passion fruit in the world, after Peru and Brazil. While Brazil has the highest yield, a significant portion is consumed domestically, placing Vietnam in the second position.
Passion fruit is not native to Vietnam, but it thrives in the country’s warm and humid climate. The plant flourishes with an average rainfall of over 1,600 mm, evenly distributed, avoiding storms during flowering and fruiting seasons.
Purple passion fruit thrives in subtropical regions with altitudes between 1,000 and 1,200 meters, while the yellow variety is better suited to tropical regions with altitudes below 600 meters. With a four-month growing period, three crops can be cultivated each year.
In terms of export structure, Vietnam sends 3-5% of its passion fruit to Europe, about 20% to China, and the rest is consumed domestically or used for juice production.
Leading Vietnamese Passion Fruit Exporters
Statistics show that while passion fruit cultivation started early in Lam Dong, Gia Lai province, particularly in Chu Se district, now has the largest area under cultivation in the country. Dak Nong province also has a significant area under cultivation.
As the province with the largest cultivation area, Gia Lai is home to most of the major players in the passion fruit industry. Nafoods Group Joint Stock Company (HOSE: NAF) is the largest passion fruit processor and exporter in Asia, accounting for 10% of global production. In Gia Lai alone, Nafoodco is permitted to expand its linked raw material area with farmers to 3,000 hectares.
This enterprise specializes in exploiting the advantages of tropical fruits such as passion fruit, dragon fruit, mango, pineapple, coconut, and papaya, and currently holds the top position in Asia and Vietnam for passion fruit exports.
In 2023, NAF’s net revenue reached VND 1,732.5 billion, a 1.9% decrease from the previous year. However, the gross profit margin improved by 5.8 percentage points to 27.1%, resulting in a gross profit of VND 468.8 billion, a 24.7% increase. NAF has consistently maintained a gross profit margin of over 20% in recent years through the sale of passion fruit and other tropical fruits.
Another leading exporter of passion fruit is Doveco – Dong Giao Export Food Joint Stock Company. Their products have reached over 60 countries, successfully penetrating demanding markets.
Passion fruit products are mainly produced at the DOVECO Gia Lai factory, including concentrated passion fruit juice, NFC passion fruit juice, and frozen passion fruit pulp, which currently account for more than 50% of the company’s total export value. DOVECO entered the passion fruit export market in 2020, shipping 100 tons of passion fruit to the Netherlands.
In 2023, the company’s revenue reached VND 3,000 billion, with exports accounting for 80%. Compared to the previous year, the company’s export turnover in 2023 reached 169% of the 2022 figure. The company also owns four main raw material regions: company-owned agriculture, the Northwest region, the Red River Delta and North Central region, and the Central Highlands, with a current processing capacity of 136,000 tons per year.
Quicornac Co., Ltd. is the largest FDI passion fruit processing factory in Gia Lai, with a capacity of 300-400 tons per day. With Quicornac’s presence, the passion fruit production and processing industry in Gia Lai has made remarkable strides in terms of yield, output, and export turnover.
Operating since early 2022, the Quicornac passion fruit processing plant has consumed tens of thousands of tons of passion fruit from local farmers. In 2022, the company exported more than 100 containers of passion fruit to Europe and the US, with a turnover of over $20 million. On average, the company purchases about 2,000 tons of passion fruit from cooperatives in Gia Lai each month.
Previously, Hoang Anh Gia Lai Agricultural International Joint Stock Company (HAGL Agrico) owned up to 600 hectares of passion fruit farms. In 2017, HAGL Agrico aimed to generate VND 1,000 billion in revenue from passion fruit, making it the largest revenue contributor among the three types of fruits they invested in at the time: passion fruit, bananas, and dragon fruit.
In 2018, the planned revenue from passion fruit was reduced to VND 650 billion. In 2019, HAGL Agrico expected to earn only VND 30 billion from passion fruit and shifted its focus to bananas as the main product. The area under passion fruit cultivation decreased from thousands of hectares to just 100 hectares by the end of 2018, and it no longer appeared in the company’s annual report in 2019.
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