Vietnam Fresh Banana insights

Core tip: Bananas are one of the most popular fruit trees in Vietnam, widely cultivated from the northern and central mountainous regions to the southern delta. The national banana planting area exceeds 161,000 hectares, with a production volume close to 3 million tons in 2024. Bananas are not only the fruit with the highest yield among key fruit trees but also one of the products with a significant export value in Vietnam's agricultural sector.

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

According to the Crop and Plant Protection Department, Vietnam currently has over 1.3 million hectares of fruit trees, with an annual production of around 15 million tons. Among these, bananas occupy approximately 161,000 hectares with export turnover close to 380 million USD in 2024, making Vietnam the world's 9th largest banana exporter. Additionally, pineapples cover over 52,000 hectares, coconuts around 202,000 hectares, and passion fruit more than 12,000 hectares. All are expanding exports and promoting deep processing. Promoting Deep Processing, Aiming for Billion-Dollar Turnover Four key fruit products, including durian, dragon fruit, bananas, and coconuts, are being promoted to increase export value: Durian is being oriented towards quality improvement to meet the requirements of China and Southeast Asian markets. Dragon fruit is shifting to off-season production and deep processing to control supply and demand. Bananas are expanding into the Indian and Japanese markets ...