According to economic experts, Vietnamese avocados are not inferior in terms of quality and quantity compared to the world's major avocado exporting countries. Although there is much room for development, the story of exporting avocados in Vietnam still faces many obstacles.

Plenty of room for export

In 2018, the global avocado market was valued at 14 billion USD, and it is forecasted to reach 23 billion USD by 2027. In 2019, a record 3.2 million tons of avocados were harvested worldwide. Mexico remains the largest exporter, with nearly 1.9 million tons (60%), followed by South American countries.

In Vietnam, avocados are a high-value fruit crop, primarily grown in the Central Highlands provinces of Lam Dong, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Gia Lai, and Kon Tum, with a total area of nearly 8,000 hectares, and farmers are continuing to expand the planting area. Notably, avocados are intercropped in coffee and pepper gardens, initially yielding high productivity, quality, and efficiency.

Dak Nong is one of the provinces with a large area and avocado production in the country, with an area of nearly 2,600 hectares; of which more than 700 hectares are monoculture, nearly 1,900 hectares are intercropped, and the average yield is from 10 - 15 tons/ha. Avocado trees are easy to grow, have few pests and diseases, and the cost of care is only one-third of other perennial crops, and with stable avocado prices as in recent years, each hectare yields from 300 - 500 million VND/year.

With favorable terrain, climate, and soil conditions compared to other provinces, many avocado varieties in Dak Nong bear fruit almost year-round (from January to November), with high yields such as Cuban avocado, 034 avocado, Booth avocado, Hass avocado, wax avocado... Dak Nong avocados are larger, more pliable, darker yellow, and more aesthetically pleasing than avocados from other localities, thus favored by consumers.

According to the evaluation of the Western Highlands Agriculture and Forestry Science Institute – WASI, avocados bring significant income to farmers, and by the 5th year of planting, they can yield 25-30 tons of fruit/season/ha. The lowest price is about 30,000 VND, and during peak times it can reach up to 100,000 VND/kg for delicious avocados.

Mr. Le Trong Yen, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Dak Nong province, said that the locality has oriented and planned specialized avocado growing areas and gradually reduced the area of intercropped, spontaneous planting in fields. Since June 2017, the Department has worked with 66 households with more than 700ha of monoculture, aiming to grow according to VietGAP, GlobalGAP standards to target export.

Towards the goal of exporting and sustainably developing avocado trees

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the demand for avocado consumption in the United States is very large, and this is an opportunity for Vietnamese fruit and vegetable export enterprises in the near future.

In an exchange with PLVN, Mr. Le Son Ha - Head of the Plant Quarantine Department, Plant Protection Department (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) said that most avocados in the United States are consumed through large supermarket channels, with large volumes, so they must meet very high requirements: Avocado supplying companies must be responsible and able to control the stages in the supply chain, from production to distribution; export enterprises need to ensure they have sufficient quality certificates. Since avocados are a type of fruit used for immediate consumption, businesses need to pay special attention to food safety factors.

Mr. Ha added: "Vietnam currently has many avocado varieties that bear fruit almost year-round. However, the commercial value of Vietnamese avocados is still low due to limitations in the application of science and technology, fragmented production scale, and the lack of brand building and geographical indications.

Faced with the possibility that avocados could become a strong export and penetrate demanding markets, Mr. Ha believes that there needs to be a close link between growing regions, farmers, and agricultural export enterprises. In addition, Vietnam needs to search for and select delicious, high-quality, high-yield avocado varieties, especially with an effective marketing strategy.

Agreeing with this view, Ms. Ngo Tuong Vy - Deputy Director of Chanh Thu Company (Ben Tre), one of the enterprises specializing in exporting agricultural products abroad, said that the most difficult issue in the avocado production process is the preservation stage.

Avocados are considered a "difficult" fruit because they are not easy to preserve, currently mainly used for fresh consumption but usually only last up to a maximum of 5 days. The characteristic of ripening simultaneously, easily bruised, makes it very difficult to transport to distant provinces or export. Currently, in Vietnam, there are no processed products from avocados. On the other hand, avocados are also very difficult to process, if not done correctly, avocados are very easily infected with a bitter taste.

Through the exchange, Ms. Vy added that the company has exported some orders to China, Taiwan, Australia... and received positive feedback. However, to penetrate demanding markets like the US or European countries, according to Ms. Vy, "it is not a simple story and requires very serious, methodical investment".

Ms. Vy mentioned the HPP (high pressure processing) technology recently successfully applied in the US, which helps processed avocado products retain their flavor, nutrients, freshness, and extend the product's shelf life. If this technology is applied in Vietnam in the near future, it will solve one of the most difficult problems for avocados to date.

To have quality avocados, Chanh Thu is currently trying to contact farms or avocado growing areas in the two provinces of Dak Lak and Dak Nong according to VietGap, GlobalGap standards, and even higher, Organic, ensuring proper techniques in all stages from seed selection, planting seedlings, caring for trees, harvesting, post-harvest handling...

"I believe that if we do a good job in production, have investment and a suitable market approach, avocados can quickly become a high-revenue export crop for our country," Ms. Vy said.