Vietnamese pomelos and limes are able to be exported all year-round. Right now, supply is limited, but demand is at a high level, leading to higher prices. The Vietnamese produce is gaining ground, however, in the UK, Russia and Eastern European countries, one exporter states.
According to Steven Le, Senior Expert Sales for Vietnam fresh produce exporter Bio Fruit Coop, the start of the year has been solid. Although there is lower production, demand and prices are good: “In the first months of 2022, Vietnam is experiencing the peak months of the dry season. Although limes and pomelo are crops that produce fruit all year round, at this time the production of this fruit is relatively small. The demand for the product is relatively high for the domestic market as well as for export, which has pushed the prices of Vietnamese limes and pomelos to quite high levels.”
Le states that their company works with more than 200 farmers directly, to ensure they get the maximum value out of their efforts: “Bio Fruit Coop is a pioneer enterprise operating under the cooperative model, we work directly with more than 200 farmers in the Mekong Delta region with committed on giving farmers access to expert advisory on quality standards while improving farm production practices, promoting end to end value chain via value added post-harvest activities and marketing. The value added of the chain would be shared to all member participants of the project. This creates a closed and sustainable supply chain; therefore, fluctuations in domestic prices of limes and pomelos do not affect us significantly.”
“We were established in 2020, with a management team with many years of experience in the European market. So it did not take long for us to establish the necessary standards and certifications for the EU market. In 2021 we exported a thousand tons of limes and pomelo, although established during the pandemic, that was a successful year for us. Our products are now available in some supermarkets in the UK, Russia and some Eastern European countries. We’re currently negotiating with some importers to bring our products to German supermarkets as well.”
Vietnam is also dealing with challenges when it comes to transport, Le explains: “Our biggest difficulty in the current period is mainly related to logistics, in addition to very high freight rates, we also have to face the fact that the shipping time is often longer than 5-7 days. For pomelo, 35-40 days of transit time does not affect the quality much, however limes will be more sensitive. Currently, we have successfully researched and applied packaging types to increase the shelf life of limes and meet the criteria of being environmentally friendly. With available technologies, besides limes and pomelos, we can also handle dragon fruit and coconut by sea and we are also looking for partners in these projects.”
Le emphasizes the advantage of the Vietnamese pomelo and limes, as they’re able to ship it to the destination all days of the year: “The strength of Vietnamese limes and pomelo is the ability to provide both products year-round, and is very suitable for building year-round programs. In addition, thanks to being grown mainly in the Mekong Delta, where the alluvial soil is rich in nutrients and the water source is close to the river and the sea, the taste of these fruits is very different. If Vietnamese pomelo is known for its sweet, crunchy and juicy taste, Vietnamese limes are considered to be the perfect combination of Brazilian and Mexican limes, when they have both nice coloration and are juicy in content. Also, our company is an expert when it comes to untreated limes, a product that made a name for Vietnamese limes in Europe. This is something we want more and more customers to experience.” He concludes.
For more information:
Steven Le
Bio Fruit Coop
Tel: +84 932 124 237
Email: steven-le@biofruitcoop.com
www.biofruitcoop.com