Vietnamese dragon fruit is asserting its quality and value in Australia, an agricultural powerhouse with some of the world's most stringent biosecurity standards.
"As long as the dragon fruit arrives, we sell it year-round."
"'I love it, can I buy it all year round?'; 'The product is of good quality and high value' are two of the many comments on the online sales page of Australia's largest supermarket chain, Woolworths, for Vietnamese frozen dragon fruit. It is a point of pride that all the reviews on this page are 5-star ratings.
Meanwhile, at the Coles hypermarket chain, fresh dragon fruit under the 'Rồng Đỏ' (Red Dragon) brand is being sold for 4.9 Australian dollars per fruit. Highly praised by customers for its quality, fresh Vietnamese dragon fruit is now available year-round at this supermarket chain. It's safe to say that a product sold at either Coles or Woolworths serves as a guarantee of its value and quality.
Receiving 5-Star Ratings, Vietnamese Dragon Fruit Paves the Way for Exports to Australia.
Vietnamese Dragon Fruit's Success in Australia
At Thaikee, a major Asian hypermarket with a prime location in Sydney's central tourist area, Haymarket, Vietnamese dragon fruit proudly showcases its vibrant red color across a section of this expensive retail space, serving both local consumers and tourists.
At the MCQ supermarket chain, one of the largest wholesale and retail chains in Western Australia, a representative told the Vietnam Trade Office in a survey that "as soon as the dragon fruit arrives, we sell it year-round." The director of HoaAustralia Company stated that dragon fruit is a strategic product for the company's distribution across Australia's coastal cities. At certain times, they don't have enough dragon fruit to meet demand.
Following the directions of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Representative Office, even while many Australian cities have been under lockdown for two years, has continuously carried out promotional activities for dragon fruit, expanding promotion thousands of kilometers away in Australia.
On Sunday, September 19, 2021, the Trade Office arranged a booth for tasting Vietnamese agricultural products at the famous weekend market on the grounds of Rozelle Primary School, where many young people attended with their parents. "'That’s so special, I'm going to tell my friends at school about it'," said three young girls from grades 1-4 after being invited to try the dragon fruit by the Head of the Trade Office, Nguyen Phu Hoa. The event was also honored with the presence of the Consul General, who came to participate and assist in marketing the product.
Australia is also a country that grows dragon fruit, and this year has been particularly challenging for importing fresh agricultural products due to longer shipping times and delays. However, thanks to many joint efforts, including the strong promotional activities by the Trade Office in 2020 and continuously throughout 2021 (three dragon fruit marketing events in Australia so far this year), the export value of Vietnamese dragon fruit to Australia has grown by a remarkable 85% compared to the same six-month period last year.
Currently, while the latest statistics are still pending, with the "red color covering many supermarkets," Vietnamese dragon fruit is sure to have a highly successful year in Australia. It is a source of pride that Vietnamese dragon fruit is asserting its quality and value in Australia, an agricultural powerhouse with some of the world's most stringent biosecurity standards.
Vietnamese Dragon Fruit's Advantages in the International Market
In Vietnam, dragon fruit is a key export fruit, bringing in billions of USD each year. Vietnam's main export markets for dragon fruit are China (accounting for over 80%), Thailand, and Indonesia. Additionally, Vietnamese dragon fruit has also been exported to many other countries, including India, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the European Union, and Chile.
Recently, at the "Vietnam Dragon Fruit Online Trade Conference with Potential Export Markets 2021," Mr. Nguyen Tuan Thanh, Director of the Long An Provincial Department of Industry and Trade, stated that the province's annual dragon fruit production is around 330,000 tons. Long An has been implementing many solutions to build and develop a sustainable dragon fruit region, moving towards high-tech agricultural production to supply year-round orders.
According to Mr. Thanh, Long An's Chau Thanh dragon fruit has been granted a Geographical Indication certificate by the Intellectual Property Office. The Tam Vu dragon fruit brand is also protected in five countries: the U.S., France, Japan, Singapore, and China.
Growing dragon fruit has brought significant economic benefits to local farmers over the past several years.
Besides Long An, Binh Thuan province is also a region with a very large dragon fruit growing area, which has brought high economic efficiency to its people for many years. Mr. Bien Tan Tai, Deputy Director of the Binh Thuan Provincial Department of Industry and Trade, stated that the province's total dragon fruit growing area has reached 33,750 hectares. Of this, 11,936 hectares are VietGAP-certified, and 517 hectares are GlobalGAP-certified, with an average annual output of 650,000 tons.
"The entire province of Binh Thuan has about 240 facilities for purchasing, pre-processing, and packaging dragon fruit, and 6 facilities that process dragon fruit into value-added products like dragon fruit wine, dried fruit, and soft-dried fruit," Mr. Tai said.
Market Potential and Competition
Affirming the potential and advantages of Vietnamese dragon fruit, Mr. Vu Ba Phu, Director of the Trade Promotion Agency (Ministry of Industry and Trade), stated that Vietnamese dragon fruit has recently captured significant export market shares in Asia, Europe, and the Americas, and is consumed by many Asian-Americans and Europeans.
"The diversification of value-added products from dragon fruit by local authorities and businesses is considered the right direction to diversify consumption channels, reduce seasonal pressure, and develop the market and brand. However, in recent years, Vietnamese dragon fruit has faced increasing competition from other sources of supply from Taiwan, Thailand, and Malaysia," Mr. Vu Ba Phu noted.