Vietnamese coconuts have been exported since 1990 - 1992, but the products are mainly processed as food ingredients, coconut farmers are on their own because the products do not have a brand or set of regulations. specific production standards.

If in previous years, the export of coconuts and products only reached a figure of over 100,000 USD/year, then by 2022, the number of exports of coconuts and coconut products will reach 940 million USD.

In the first months of 2023, the economic situation will be difficult, so the coconut industry will decline seriously. However, in the second and third quarters of 2023, the coconut industry received a lot of good news when coconuts were officially exported to the US market and some European countries, along with China actively considering importing the fruit. Vietnamese coconuts enter this market.

Currently, there are 90 coconut and coconut-related enterprises in the country, of which, there are 42 enterprises producing coconut products across the country today. In particular, the coconut industry business community has boldly invested in technology and organic material growing areas, many hundreds of hectares of coconut farms were established in Tay Ninh, Khanh Hoa, Binh Thuan, Binh Dinh... leading the trend, contributing to outstanding export turnover in the coming time.

Considered the coconut capital of the country, the total coconut area in Ben Tre province is currently estimated at 78,310 hectares, an increase of 1.35% over the same period last year. Mr. Huynh Quang Duc - Deputy Director of the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said that up to now, the whole province has built 6 pilot concentrated coconut production areas. Of which 5 production areas follow organic standards and 1 area produces drinking water coconuts.

From the beginning of 2023 until now, the province has developed an additional 554 hectares of organic coconut, bringing the total area of coconut produced according to organic standards to 17,846 hectares (accounting for 22.9% of the total coconut area in the province), of which The certified area is 11,418 hectares. In particular, the area certified organic according to US, Japanese, EU, Chinese, Korean standards... is constantly maintained and developed every year.

However, according to businesses in the industry, coconut export still has certain difficulties that need to be resolved, especially in logistics. For example, compared with Thailand, Vietnam's coconut price is currently quite good, but in terms of logistics, Thailand has many advantages and the government also has a policy to support transportation costs. In addition, the current domestic coconut export industry lacks connectivity. For example, the same type of exported Siamese coconut has the same quality as Thailand, but in our country, four factories will have four different prices. Meanwhile in Thailand, they will have the same price.

Clearly, in the process of building a brand and making Vietnam's coconut industry more present in the world market, creating momentum for the development of many other coconut exploitation industry groups, Vietnam still has a lot of work to do.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Thanh, the biggest goal of the Vietnam Coconut Association is to turn the coconut industry into a key production and export industry; Maximize efficiency and increase economic value for products from coconut trees. Export turnover from 2024 is expected to reach 1 billion USD/year.

The Association will continue its plan to build standard coconut raw material areas, and proceed to form a coconut map across the country as data for investors and businesses to refer to and support the development of the coconut industry. In particular, aiming to build an organic raw material area for the coconut industry.

At the same time, we will accompany coconut farmers in farming, harvesting, and processing to contribute to stabilizing coconut prices. Support coconut industry businesses to improve competitiveness, develop markets and affirm product brands in domestic and foreign markets./.

Minh Toan