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Vietnamese businesses are required to abide by regulations relating to quality standards in order to increase the market share of pineapple products in the European market, according to industry insiders.

During a recent consultation session held to discuss pineapple exports to Europe, Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy, deputy director of the Export Promotion Centre under the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade), emphasized that Europe is one of the largest consumers of Vietnamese agricultural products.

The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) can be considered a good opportunity for local agricultural products to penetrate major markets with high selling prices, she said, adding that domestic firms must make further changes to export their products in a sustainable manner to the demanding market.

With regard to demand for pineapple in the Netherlands, Inge Ribbens, specialist of the International Affairs Department under the Dutch association for the Promotion of Import and Export of Fresh Fruits, revealed that the Netherlands can serve as the gateway for various types of fruit products to be exported to the European market.

The Dutch expert therefore recommended that Vietnamese businesses acquire relevant information on European regulations on quality standards, quarantine policies, and rules on food safety and sustainability related to products, along with the strict requirements set by distributors in order to make further inroads into the market.

She went on to suggest that Vietnamese businesses consider attending major global trade fairs such as Fruit Attraction Madrid, SIAL Paris, Fruit Logistica Bangkok, and Gulfood Dubai in order to promote their brands and gain direct access to potential European importers.

Nguyen Duc Thuong, commercial counsellor of the Vietnam Trade Office in Switzerland, said Switzerland has recently imported several pineapple products from Vietnam, although the quantity and turnover remains limited.

Vietnamese pineapple products have mainly been sold in Asian and Vietnamese stores and have not been distributed through large supermarket channels, he added.

Thuong said that despite facing fierce competition from regional rivals, there remains plenty of room for canned pineapple and juice products in some niche markets. For fresh pineapples, he added Vietnamese businesses are required to cooperate with Swiss importers from the cultivation stage in a bid to ensure the product quality and design.

Sharing this perspective, Bui Vuong Anh, commercial counsellor of the Vietnam Trade Office in Germany, noted that local enterprises must pay attention to the product quality and reduce logistics costs, learn more about consumer tastes, prioritise the export of organic products, as well as utilising the tax incentives of the EVFTA to enter the German market.

During the consultation session, Nguyen Canh Cuong, commercial counsellor of the Vietnam Trade Office in the UK, revealed that the office has mobilised a Hong Kong-born businessperson to develop a pineapple processing factory in Hau Giang province.

Once the site is ready for production this year, enterprise from Hau Giang and Tien Giang provinces are anticipated to seize upon the opportunity to supply pineapple products to the factory, Cuong noted.