After 10 years of development, the Vietnamese passion fruit industry is making great strides. Currently, Vietnam is in the Top 10 countries supplying the largest passion fruit in the world . In 2024, the whole country will have about 10,400 hectares of passion fruit, with an output of more than 163,000 tons; about 80% of the output will be processed and exported, with an export turnover of over 170 million USD. In particular, the Central Highlands region affirms its role as the "capital" of passion fruit, accounting for 86% of the area and 90% of the output. Dak Lak province alone currently has 2,700 hectares of passion fruit, with an output of more than 38,000 tons, making an important contribution to the industry's value chain. Vietnam's competitive advantage comes not only from suitable natural conditions but also from outstanding productivity, especially in specialized growing areas in the Central Highlands, where this figure can reach 50 - 60 tons/ha, much higher than other countries.
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| A delegation from the National Agricultural Extension Center visited the passion fruit nursery of Nafoods Group Joint Stock Company. Photo: M. Thuan |
In particular, positive signals from the international market continuously open up great opportunities. After being officially exported to China (July 2022) and then to the Australian market; it is expected that in 2025, fresh passion fruit from Vietnam will complete negotiations to officially appear in the United States. Demand from major markets such as Europe and China for both fresh and processed products remains very high, creating momentum for passion fruit to break through, while affirming Vietnam's position in the international market.
Besides great opportunities, the passion fruit industry has not yet resolved the "bottlenecks" that hinder sustainable development. These include fragmented and small-scale production; input quality has not been strictly controlled; the link between farmers - cooperatives - enterprises is still very loose... According to the assessment of the National Agricultural Extension Center, one of the biggest barriers is the lack of synchronization in the production process, leading to uneven product quality and making it difficult to manage and trace the origin. Along with that, poor preservation technology leads to great losses, reducing the commercial value of products when exported, especially with fresh fruits...
Deputy Director of the National Agricultural Extension Center Hoang Van Hong commented: "Passion fruit is an easy-to-grow plant with a short harvest time, helping farmers quickly earn income. However, that is also the reason for spontaneous development and lack of planning. This situation poses a big challenge in controlling quality and ensuring stable output for products."
To remove the "bottlenecks", building and perfecting the value chain in a synchronous manner is considered an inevitable solution. This requires the participation and promotion of the role of all relevant parties. In which, the "root" of the value chain is the farmer and the production organization. Changing the mindset from chasing output to focusing on quality, strictly complying with VietGAP and Global GAP standards is a mandatory requirement. In this process, cooperatives play a key role as a bridge.
According to the Dak Lak Province Cooperative Union, new-style cooperatives are playing a very good role in gathering farmers, forming large raw material areas, and applying synchronous technical processes. Typically, the Cao Nguyen Green High-Tech Agricultural Cooperative currently has 56 hectares of passion fruit that meet Global GAP standards and is expanding production links to 200 hectares. The cooperative has currently built 3 domestic growing area codes and 2 international growing area codes (Australia, Europe); packaging facilities that meet world export standards. At the same time, the cooperative has organized deep processing of passion fruit products (juice, jam, powder, wine, dried passion fruit, seed essential oil, etc.), helping to increase product value. When participating in the cooperative, farmers are not only supported with techniques and input materials at good prices, but are also guaranteed stable output through consumption contracts.
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| Delegates learn about passion fruit seedlings at the Workshop on Solutions for Developing a Sustainable Passion Fruit Production and Consumption Chain . Photo: T. Xuan |
Mr. Nguyen Van Thai Binh , Director of the Cao Nguyen Green High-Tech Agricultural Cooperative, said that the most important thing for growing passion fruit is to determine the output market. Each domestic or export market has different standards, requiring growers to invest in costs and corresponding production processes. Therefore, to have a stable and sustainable growing area, passion fruit growers need to connect with consulting units to invest and build appropriate processes to meet the requirements of the export market.
In the value chain, enterprises play a leading role in guiding the market and investing in technology. Nafoods Group Joint Stock Company (Nafoods Group) is a typical example when building a chain linking 28 cooperatives (more than 2,000 farming households), with nearly 2,500 hectares of passion fruit. The enterprise not only commits to consuming products but also proactively supplies disease-free seeds from biotechnology laboratories, transfers technical processes and applies digital technology to advise and supervise growing areas. Investing in modern processing plants helps diversify products, maximize value and reduce dependence on fresh fruit exports.
According to Deputy Director of the National Agricultural Extension Center Hoang Van Hong, to develop passion fruit sustainably, building and perfecting the value chain is an inevitable path. This will not only help increase farmers' income but also affirm the position of Vietnamese agricultural products in the international market.
Minh Thuan - Thanh Xuan
Source: https://baodaklak.vn/kinh-te/202509/de-chanh-day-rong-duong-xuat-khau-chinh-ngach-d2f1332/
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