Hanoi (VNA)ღ – Maintaining raw material areas for the industry, improving the value of products, and ensuring incomes for farmers are major goals of Vietnam’s coconut sector this year, according to Vietnam Coconut Association.

In 2022, Vietnam’s exports of coconut and coconut products reached over 900 million USD. This does not include those made from coconut wood and commercial handicraft products using raw materials from the trees. Vietnam's coconut industry currently has nearly 90 products offered in the market. Besides, there are nearly 200 food products using coconut ingredients. Cao Ba Dang Khoa, the association’s acting general secretary, said that in 2023, the coconut industry will maintain its processing and export capacity and bring the turnover up to about 940-950 million USD. With the current growth momentum, within the next two years, the country’s coconut exports will surely top 1 billion USD. Despite being optimistic about the export of Vietnamese coconut products, Khoa is still concerned about the prices of raw material which fell sharply from the second half of 2022. He said the current coconut price is more than 10% lower than the lowest in 2018 due to the reduced number of orders – a visible impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry. The lingering pandemic also affected the developing of organic coconut areas and applying technology to control the transparency of raw coconut sources, Khoa said, adding that the factors are important in promoting the export of high-value coconut products which are used in industries of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, or food production. According to the association’s official, besides promoting exports, the coconut industry will also focus on developing the domestic market. He explained that when coconut products are sold in stores in the domestic market, it can help to prove the origin of Vietnamese coconut products and prove they are environmentally friendly. Nguyen Thi Truc Lien, Material Division Director of Ben Tre Import-Export Joint Stock Company (Betrimex), said that Vietnam has huge potential for exporting coconut products as parts of coconut trees can be used for production. Moreover, many local coconut businesses are further investing in modern processing technology. Bui Hoang Yen from the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s Department of Trade Promotion said that the international coconut community has forecasted demand for products by 2025 to grow by 10% per year, in which demand for coconut milk will increase by 15% and coconut jelly 5.6%. With the growing demand in the world market, the opportunity for Vietnam's coconut industry is not small, she said./.