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Vietnamese exports received a sweet boost on June 24 with the presence of its red and yellow-fleshed dragon fruits at the grand opening of Spinneys, a high-end supermarket chain from the United Arab Emirates.

Vietnam earns $230 million from exporting dragon fruit in the first four months of this year. Photo: congthuong.vn

This marked the first time the Vietnamese dragon fruit has hit shelves in Saudi Arabia, VietnamPlus reported.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Dang Xuan Dung highlighted the growing presence of Vietnamese agricultural goods, seafood, and canned beverages in Saudi Arabia.

The diplomat expressed his hope that Spinneys would expand its offerings of Vietnamese products and pledged the embassy's full support in connecting the supermarket chain with Vietnamese exporters to foster stronger bilateral trade ties.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Dang Xuan Dung discusses opportunities to bring Vietnamese dragon fruit to Spinneys shelves. Photo: congthuong.vn

Sunil Kumar, CEO of Spinneys, outlined plans for further expansion in Saudi Arabia. Three additional supermarkets are slated to open in Riyadh and Jeddah this year, followed by at least four new stores annually over the next 5-10 years.

He said Spinneys currently operates over 150 stores across the UAE and marks its presence in Oman as well. It is planning to establish a representative office in Vietnam, creating a direct channel for Vietnamese products to reach Spinneys shelves across the region.

According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, Vietnam's exports to Saudi Arabia fetched 615.3 million USD in the first five months of this year, marking an annual 48.5% rise, mostly rice, seafood, cashew nuts, pepper, wooden furniture, beverages, apparel, footwear, machinery, auto parts, electronic components, computers and phones.

Meanwhile, Vietnam's imports from Saudi Arabia decreased by 16.1% to 549.7 million USD, primarily consisting of plastic materials, chemicals and petroleum. As a result, total bilateral trade turnover reached $1.16 billion, reflecting a 9.2% year-on-year growth.

Vietnamese dragon fruit exports to the US, the UK, and Germany skyrocketed by between 100% and 266% in the first four months of the year compared to the same period last year, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

Specifically, exports to Germany and the UK saw a rise of more than 2.3-fold to reach $786,000 and over $1 million in value, respectively.

A dragon fruit farm in Vietnam. Photo: dragonfruit.net.vn

Meanwhile, exports to the US and Indian markets also surged by over 102% and 33% to $13 million and $16.5 million, respectively.

Statistics indicate that Vietnam earned $230 million from exporting dragon fruit in the four-month period, down 7.5% year on year.

Experts attributed this decline to the fact that dragon fruit exports to China, Vietnam’s main export market, continued to drop 19.3% to only $162 million.

Elsewhere, markets such as Hong Kong (China) and Japan also reduced imports of dragon fruit from Vietnam, representing a fall of between 0.6% and 7.5%.

Dang Phuc Nguyen, general secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, pointed out that as the world has been affected by El Nino, global dragon fruit output is anticipated to plummet this year.

Most notably, Mexico and South American countries suffered crop failures this year, thereby opening up huge opportunities for Vietnamese dragon fruit to make further inroads into the European and North American markets moving forward, according to VOV.

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