According to data from the General Administration of Customs of China, in the 11 months of 2024, China spent more than 22.1 billion USD importing fruits and vegetables from 10 countries. Thailand took the lead with 6.8 billion USD, down 19.4%. Vietnam ranked second, selling over 4 billion USD worth of fruits and vegetables to its neighbor, up 26% over the same period in 2023.
Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen, General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, commented that Thailand's difficulties due to unfavorable weather have helped China increase its purchases from Vietnam, especially durian. In addition, Vietnamese bananas, dragon fruit, watermelon, mango and lychee have also surpassed Thailand, becoming the leading product group in this market.
Vietnam is now a "heavyweight" competitor that Chile and Thailand are wary of. If it overcomes technical barriers and improves the quality of fresh and frozen products, according to the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, Vietnam has the potential to become the leading vegetable exporter to China this year.
Meanwhile, according to statistics for the first 11 months of 2024, Chile - the country that has been leading or second in exporting vegetables to the billion-people market for a decade - only reached 3.4 billion USD. Next is the US with 1.1 billion USD, up 18%.
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