This year, Vietnam’s coconut export value reached a record, earning 900 million USD. Currently, 30% of Vietnam’s coconut area has been recognized as meeting VietGAP standards, 30% of the coconut area has been granted a growing area code.
The above information was given at the Forum on Connecting Production and Consumption of Coconut Products, held in Ben Tre on December 13, organized by the Department of Quality, Processing and Market Development (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) in coordination with the Vietnam Agriculture Newspaper.
1 of 6 key industrial crops
Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy – Director of the Department of Science, Technology and Environment, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development – said that coconut is one of the six key industrial crops of Vietnam, along with coffee, rubber, tea, cashew, and pepper.
Forum scene. Photo: Hoa Hoi.
Currently, Vietnamese coconut is becoming an export item with high value. Products processed from coconut have great potential to increase the value of coconut trees, increasing income for people. According to statistics, 30% of coconut acreage has been recognized to meet VietGAP standards, 30% has been granted a growing area code. This year, the value of coconut export turnover reached a record of 900 million USD.
According to Ms. Thuy, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has recently worked and signed a trade agreement, opening the official coconut export market. In addition, investing in developing research on varieties and cultivation processes such as collaborating with Tra Vinh University to research coconut hybridization to facilitate the development of the coconut industry.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy – Director of Department of Science, Technology and Environment, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development – spoke.
Ben Tre is known as the “coconut capital” of the country with an area of over 80,000 hectares, accounting for 88% of the coconut area in the Mekong Delta and nearly 42% of the coconut area nationwide. Coconut trees are identified as the main crop and source of income for more than 200,000 rural households in the province.
Mr. Huynh Quang Duc – Deputy Director of Ben Tre Department of Agriculture and Rural Development – said that Ben Tre green coconut products have been granted a certificate of trademark protection and a national certificate of geographical indication. To date, Ben Tre province has 133 coconut growing areas with 133 codes with an area of over 8,300 hectares. The province has 14 enterprises granted codes for packaging facilities exporting fresh coconuts to the Chinese market. Each year, coconut exports bring in more than 350 million USD to Ben Tre province.
Mr. Huynh Quang Duc – Deputy Director of Ben Tre Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Ben Tre has built an organic coconut material area of over 20,700 hectares. Forming a value chain closely linked with 8 large enterprises, with modern processing technology, processing and exporting organic coconut products to many markets such as: USA, EU, Japan, China, Canada, Korea… According to Mr. Duc, in order to grow organic coconut and effectively manage the issuance of growing area codes, Ben Tre has resolutely included coconut development in the Resolutions of the Provincial Party Committee and the plans of the Provincial People’s Committee.
Serious risk of raw material shortage
In addition to the potential, experts warn that the coconut industry is at risk of lacking raw materials. Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Thanh – President of the Vietnam Coconut Association – said that the Vietnamese coconut processing industry is facing a serious risk of lacking raw materials. Many businesses have invested in facilities and factories in Ben Tre, but the province’s supply is not enough for all activities. Many businesses have had to stop operating or operate at a low capacity of only 10-15%.
In recent years, the tax rate for raw coconut products has been 0%, so many businesses have set up facilities to process raw coconut products and then send them to China for further processing. In addition, from January 1, 2025, Indonesia, the leading export market for raw coconut products, has applied an 80% export tax on coconut products to protect domestic raw materials and attract investment. Thus, raw coconut products for export to Vietnamese businesses are being seriously threatened.
“If we do not soon have a tax policy and create tariff barriers to retain coconut raw materials for the domestic processing industry, our coconut industry will certainly decline,” Ms. Thanh warned.
Mr. Le Thanh Hoa – Deputy Director of the Department of Quality, Processing and Market Development – added that since the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development included coconut in the list of key industrial crops, the coconut industry has seen significant changes. However, when trade agreements are signed, the coconut export tax rate will be reduced to 0%, which is both an advantage and a challenge if we do not have a specific strategy.
Currently, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has issued many policies to develop the coconut industry, and localities need to take advantage of these policies to support people’s production activities. Mr. Hoa said that it is time for us to compete on quality, not on price.
