Vietnam Focuses on Higher-Quality Bananas, Aiming to Increase Per-Hectare Value by Over 8-Fold
Bananas are one of Vietnam's most popular fruit trees, widely cultivated from the northern and central mountainous regions to the southern delta. The total banana plantation area nationwide exceeds 161,000 hectares, with production approaching 3 million tons in 2024. Bananas are not only the highest-yielding fruit among key fruit crops but also one of the agricultural export products with significant value.
Vietnam's banana industry has large production volumes but insufficient output value, facing pressure to transform toward standardized, green, and high-tech production. On July 18, the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture hosted a forum to discuss export issues for bananas and other advantageous fruits.
According to the Vietnam Plant Protection Bureau, the largest banana cultivation areas currently include the Mekong River Delta region (39,000 hectares), Southeast region (25,000 hectares), Northern and Central Mountainous region (26,100 hectares), and Red River Delta region (21,900 hectares). The average banana yield is 207.3 quintals per hectare (20.7 tons), with the Southeast region having the highest yield at 344.8 quintals per hectare, reflecting relatively high investment and technological levels in the area.
In 2024, Vietnam exported nearly 625,000 tons of bananas to China, accounting for the largest share of its banana imports (37%). Additionally, Vietnamese banana products are sold to markets in Japan, South Korea, the United States, ASEAN (Malaysia, Singapore), the European Union, and the Middle East.
Currently, most exported bananas are still in fresh form, with very limited processing. Deep-processed products (such as dried bananas, banana powder, banana snacks) represent added value and are key to Vietnam breaking free from price-passive situations, extending the value chain, and enhancing competitiveness.
By 2030, the Vietnamese banana industry is expected to maintain an area of 165,000-175,000 hectares, with production of 2.6-3 million tons. This means the banana industry will not expand much in area but will focus on improving unit planting efficiency and value.
Facing export market competition, the Vietnamese banana industry should promote pioneer company models like Unifarm, using high-tech to develop banana trees and pursuing unified quality standards throughout the entire chain from breeding, planting, harvesting to tr