Its chairman Doan Nguyen Duc says China, which accounts for more than half of the company’s fresh banana exports, is a “gigantic” consumer of Vietnamese agricultural products.
HAGL has over 7,000 hectares under banana and supplies hundreds of thousands of tons of the fruit each year to China, Japan, South Korea, and the domestic market.
“Clients constantly place more orders and we do not produce enough bananas to meet [their] demand,” Duc said, adding that HAGL’s products are now ubiquitous in China, being available almost everywhere from traditional markets to major supermarket chains.
Fresh banana is Vietnam’s fourth-largest fruit export to China behind dragon fruit, durian and coconut.
Last year Vietnam surpassed the Philippines to become the market’s top banana supplier.
Agricultural exports to China, comprising 14 products, generate billions of dollars annually for Vietnam.
China spent US$4.6 billion on Vietnamese fruits and vegetables last year. Over the first 11 months of 2024, durian exports to that market were worth $2.84 billion, dragon fruit $320 million and banana $220 million.
Huy Long An, a mango and banana exporting company, said its sales to the market rose by around 30% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025.
Vo Quan Huy, its director, said: “Vietnamese fruit never remains unsold in China.”
Dang Phuc Nguyen, general secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, said fruit and vegetable exports to China have been soaring thanks to numerous bilateral free trade agreements and protocols signed between the two countries, such as the ASEAN-China FTA and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
Vietnam shares over 1,450 km of land and maritime borders with its neighbor to the north. China also has several large wholesale markets near the border and just a few hundred kilometers away from Vietnam’s key farming areas.
These advantages result in lower logistics costs, faster shipping times and greater competitiveness compared to other countries.
 |
Bananas at a packaging facility of Hoang Anh Gia Lai. Photo by VnExpress/Thi Ha |
“With a 1.4 billion population, China is the most lucrative consumer market in the world,” Nguyen said. “Even geographically distant countries like the U.S. or Chile are constantly looking for ways to expand there.”
And there is still plenty of room for Vietnamese businesses and exports to grow in that market.
Vietnam has an abundant supply of specialty and high-quality fruits to meet China’s immense demand for agricultural products.
During a recent Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly in Uzbekistan, Losang Jamcan, vice chairman of the standing committee of the National People’s Congress of China, said his country is willing to import high-quality Vietnamese products, including agricultural.
Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade had earlier negotiated with its neighbor to increase exports of fruits such as green-skinned pomelo, avocado, pineapple, star apple, lemon, and melon.
It had also called on China to soon sign protocols that would help Vietnamese agricultural products reach more Chinese consumers.
The two countries are expected to collaborate to build a series of railroad lines to enhance connectivity between them and supply chains.
The recent tightening of U.S. trade policies has also prompted China to import from other sources, with Vietnam emerging as a key alternative.
While it remains highly profitable, China is no longer an easy market to enter as it recently tightened technical standards for Vietnamese goods.
Earlier this year it began requiring testing for cadmium and auramine O and 100% inspection of durian shipments from Vietnam, slowing clearance, increasing spoilage risks and prompting exporters to proceed more cautiously.
Cadmium is a toxic heavy metal and auramine O is an industrial dye, and both are strictly controlled due to their potential cancer risks.
 |
Durians at a Hoang Anh Gia Lai orchard. Photo by VnExpress/Thi Ha |
Vietnam’s durian exports to that market declined by 83% to $27 million in the first two months of this year.
Once the top fruit export to China, durian has since dropped to third place behind dragon fruit and bananas.
The fruit association feared that if these technical barriers are put up also for other agricultural products, exports to China could be severely impacted.
Nguyen suggested that the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and other relevant agencies should develop a comprehensive plan to improve the quality of agricultural products.
Instead of merely issuing directives, they should also help farmers better manage planting areas, farming practices, packaging, and quality control to meet China’s increasingly strict requirements, he said.
Nguyen Quoc Toan, director of the agricultural products processing and market development department at the agriculture ministry, said businesses need to improve their products’ quality and traceability to sustain and expand their market shares.
Huy said firms must also invest appropriately to develop more professional production chains.
Vietnam has asked China to expedite market access for agricultural products, sign a framework agreement on rice trade and coordinate to avoid congestion of goods at the border.
It also encourages businesses to make use of FTAs to reduce reliance on a single market and improve their capacity to participate in global supply chains.
Efforts are being made to develop cold storage systems in border provinces, upgrade the logistics infrastructure and simplify customs procedures.
In the long term Vietnam plans to boost exports of key products like durian, dragon fruit, mango, and passion fruit to China to balance the trade between the two nations.
