Vietnamese coconut exports to China climb

According to the Import and Export Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, data from the Chinese customs agency shows that the annual demand for coconuts in the Chinese market is very large, reaching more than 4 billion coconuts. Of which, about 2.6 billion are fresh coconuts while the rest are for processing.

Just two months after gaining official export status, Vietnamese coconut sales to China have expanded, with orders reaching thousands of containers.

In the period of 2019-2023, coconut imports in the Chinese market increased by an average of 22.71% per year. In 2022 and 2023 specifically, the volume of imported coconuts continuously reached record highs at 1.095 million tonnes and 1.22 million tonnes, respectively.

In the first seven months of 2024, China imported coconuts from 7 countries and territories around the world. Of which, the main coconut suppliers for China include: Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam, with a market share of 96.51% of the total volume.

Vietnam is the third largest coconut supplier for China, reaching more than 111.1 thousand tons, worth 31.79 million USD, down 30.6% in volume and 18.6% in value compared to the same period in 2023.

The market share of Vietnamese coconut in China’s total imports decreased slightly from 22.86% in the first 7 months of 2023 to 22.57% in the first 7 months of 2024.

Coconuts are one of six crops included in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s plan for developing key industrial crops by 2030, alongside coffee, rubber, tea, cashew, and pepper. Currently, Vietnam has 15 provinces with significant coconut cultivation, covering about 200,000 hectares and producing two million tonnes. ranking 4th in the world.