Growing vegetables for export to demanding markets

In recent years, Vietnam's vegetable exports have grown strongly, covering a diverse range of products such as leafy vegetables, fruiting vegetables, and culinary herbs. The market still holds significant potential, with forecasts indicating that exports of vegetables and herbs are likely to achieve a breakthrough in the near future.

The high-tech model of hydroponic vegetable cultivation in membrane houses by Viet Rau Joint Stock Company

Dong Nai has a large agricultural land fund and numerous advantages for attracting enterprises to invest in agriculture, especially high-tech agriculture, including vegetable production. Many businesses and cooperatives in the province have successfully exported vegetables and spices to demanding international markets.

Exporting vegetables to demanding markets

Currently, Viet Rau Joint Stock Company (Phuoc Thai commune) exports about 5,000 tons of leafy vegetables, fruit vegetables, and culinary herbs on average each year. To meet the standards for export to Switzerland, the products must comply with very strict requirements, from production processes to post-harvest handling and packaging. In particular, before export, the vegetables must be tested for 581 active pesticide substances and other chemical residues according to European safety standards.

Luong Thi My Phuong, manager of Viet Rau’s export vegetable packing facility, said that the vegetables produced by the company have obtained GlobalGAP certification and are assigned a growing area code for export to the European market. Additionally, harvested vegetables brought to the packing facility must be thoroughly cleaned and uniformly sized. With this process, exported vegetables must meet standards of being green, clean, and aesthetically appealing. Thanks to the application of high technology in both production and post-harvest handling, leafy vegetables can remain fresh for up to 10 days.

Tan Yen Vegetable Cooperative (Gia Kiem commune) pioneered a new cooperative model, achieving efficient production and business results by early on establishing safe vegetable-growing procedures and building a chain of links from production to consumption, which has attracted many members. Over the years, the cooperative has successfully exported vegetables to demanding markets such as the Middle East and the United States. Its main vegetable products include jute, sweet potato leaves, okra, papaya, and cassava leaves... These crops are easy to grow, require minimal care, and are less prone to pests. The cooperative has also invested in cultivating cassava plants that provide both tubers and leaves for export. This model allows farmers to harvest both leaves and roots, achieving higher profits than traditional methods. Particularly, with the cassava leaf-specialized planting model, farmers can plant once and harvest for several years, with leaf yields in subsequent years much higher than the first harvest.

Long Phuoc Bonsai Seedling Cooperative (Long Thanh commune) has invested in growing and exporting chili peppers. The export chili farm of this cooperative has been certified organic. Its fresh chili products have been exported to markets including Germany, France, and Canada. Although chili is a common agricultural product, it often sells at high prices due to strong demand both domestically and abroad. This reality is because chili plants are more susceptible to diseases than many other vegetable and culinary herb crops, so many farmers are reluctant to invest in them.

Developing export-oriented raw material zones

The demand for clean vegetables is rising rapidly in both domestic and export markets. Many businesses and cooperatives exporting vegetables are striving to expand cultivation areas and develop raw material zones to better tap into the export market, which still holds great potential.

In particular, Vietnamese vegetable varieties produced by reputable domestic seed companies are increasingly favored in international markets. Many specialty Vietnamese herbs and vegetables, such as lolot leaves, water spinach, mustard greens, eggplant, and culantro, are being exported successfully.

With a strong desire to boost the export of Vietnamese spices worldwide, Vo Tri Quang Nguyen, Director of Long Phuoc Bonsai Seedling Cooperative, shared: Chili peppers are a common crop, so export market potential is very large. Being a short-cycle crop, farmers can invest quickly and harvest multiple times a year, bringing high economic efficiency.

To meet the stringent standards of demanding export markets, Long Phuoc Bonsai Seedling Cooperative has developed an organic chili cultivation model that applies natural pest control methods using beneficial predators. Around the chili fields, the cooperative has established buffer zones planted with various medicinal herbs that attract beneficial insects, helping to deter harmful pests. Additionally, the chili-growing land is thoroughly treated after each harvest to eliminate all potential sources of disease.

Due to supply falling short of demand, the cooperative is expanding its partnerships with more farmers and stakeholders to establish raw material zones for chili and other spice crops destined for export. It is also ready to transfer production processes and provide technical training to farmers and farms working in collaboration with the cooperative.

Moreover, Dong Nai also has advantages in attracting businesses to invest in the production of vegetable seedlings.

The businesses and cooperatives cultivating vegetables for export in Dong Nai province not only serve as high-efficiency economic models but also generate numerous jobs for local workers, particularly older laborers. Both the agricultural sector and the local authorities where these enterprises and cooperatives operate consistently provide favorable conditions to support their production and development. 

Nguyen Dinh Than, Production Director of Trang Viet Agricultural Development Co., Ltd. (Xuan Duong commune), said the company produces a wide variety of seed crops, including bitter melon, pumpkin, cucumber, squash, and watermelon, supplying both the domestic market and export markets around the world.

Dong Nai province offers favorable conditions for businesses to invest in large-scale, specialized seed production zones. Currently, the company has partnered with farmers in Dak Lua commune to expand seed production across several dozen hectares. It also plans to continue enhancing cooperation with farmers in other localities throughout the province to increase the area under seed crop cultivation further.

By Binh Nguyen - Translated by Dang Huyen, Minho