VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnamese tropical fruits are sold all over the world, but they bear labels of origin from other countries or enter markets via other countries. 

Vietnamese longan is sold in Little Japan, a crowded supermarket in Los Angeles in California in the US, for example, but is sourced from China with the words ‘produce of China’ on the packages.

Fresh longan is sold at $6.99 a pound, or over $15 per kilo and VND330,000. 

Meanwhile, Vietnamese merchants sell longan at the Tan Thanh border gate in Lang Son province, from which longan is carried across border to China, at just VND30,000 per kilo, just equal to 1/10 of the sale price posted at Little Japan. 

Many Vietnamese visitors to New York were surprised when they saw rose-apple on the city’s streets and heard from sellers that the fruit was imported from Thailand and China. 

Even dragonfruit, a Vietnamese popular export item, does not go the direct way to the US. 

Nguyen Minh, a Viet Kieu (overseas Vietnamese), the owner of a farm produce distribution business in the US, said he mostly imports fruits from China because the fruit has better protection.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), in 2014, Vietnam brought 2,000 tons of dragonfruit to the US. 

However, 80 percent of Vietnam’s dragonfruit exports are still sold to China, mainly across the border gates. In China, the products are irradiated before they are shipped to the US and other markets. 

Minh, noting that Vietnam’s fruits have to take a ‘roundabout route’ to the US, said this was understandable.

According to Minh, it takes at 17-20 days to bring dragonfruit from orchards in Vietnam to export companies and then ship them to the US, where it can be sold at supermarkets for seven to 10 days. 

This means that Vietnam’s dragonfruit can only reach US consumers 25 days after it is harvested. 

With the most advanced technology, dragonfruit can maintain its quality within 30-35 days.

Meanwhile, Chinese businesses can quicken the process of collecting fruits from farmers, processing and shipping, and they can deliver fruit quickly to ensure that the products are fresh.

The same thing happens with Vietnam’s cashew nut exports. According to the Vietnam Cashew Association, in 2014, Vietnam, for the ninth consecutive year, was the world’s biggest cashew nut exporter with 306,000 tons of exports worth $2 billion. 

However, cashew nut products available at Grand Central Market in New York, though having Vietnamese origin, are processed by Eli Zabar, a producer in the US. This is because Vietnam’s cashew nut exports are mostly raw materials.

NLD