Vietnams fruits cleared for export to US market

After 10 years of negotiations, Vietnam’s mango has received a license to enter the US market. However, the door to the market is narrow, with many barriers.

The US is the 40th export market for Vietnam's mangos

Litchi, longan, rambutan, star apple and dragon fruit are already exported to the market. Thr US is the 40th export market for Vietnam’s mango.

According to Nguyen Dinh Tung, general director of Vina T&T, Vietnam’s export companies are working with Vietnam’s quarantine agencies to complete final steps before shipping mangos to the US. 

Vietnam can export fresh ripe mango, but also unripe and elephant mango that serve different consumption purposes, such as making salads. These can be shipped by sea, which reduces the freight and selling prices.

The US imports 400,000 tons of fresh mango each year, mostly from Central and Southern American countries. In the US, mangos are mostly seen in Florida and Hawaii. The domestic output is 3,000 tons, or just 1 percent of annual imports.

Dam Quang Thang, general director of Agricare Vietnam, said that Vietnam will have to compete fiercely with products from Mexico, which holds 60 percent of the US market share.

“As Vietnam’s mangos are carried by air, the cost will be higher. Mexico is famous for high-quality safe fruits,” Thang said. 

In principle, Vietnam’s mango must meet requirements to enter the US, including requirements on orchards and packaging, radiation and prevention against insects.

The US Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), when announcing the licensing to Vietnam’s mango, estimated that about 3,000 tons of Vietnam’s mango would be exported to the US each year. 

Thang commented that it was still too early to predict the mango export volume. Vietnam’s mango not only needs to satisfy requirements set by US management agencies, but also satisfy the tastes of American consumers. The sale of mangos in the US will also depend on the distribution network.

Sharing the same view, an expert said he doesn’t think mango exports to the US will soar in the first years after the licensing.

Mangos are cultivated only in some specialized growing areas, while 95 percent of the area are mixed orchards. This is one of the reasons behind the low yield. To date, mangos have been mostly consumed domestically, while the exports remain very modest.

Vietnam earned over $2 billion from exporting fruits and vegetables in the first half of 2018, a year-on-year rise of 19.7 percent and estimated that the figure was $4.7 billion in the entire year.