According to experts, watermelon production in Vietnam is currently unstable. The protocol requiring plant quarantine for watermelon from Vietnam to China comes into effect on June 12. Therefore, the output of this item will be more stable, helping people stick to the plant.
Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen, General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, said that watermelon is an unstable export item due to many risks. The key export market for Vietnam’s watermelon is China. However, this item only gets high prices before and after the Lunar New Year. In the summer, because China can grow watermelons, the demand for imports is usually lower. Along with that, watermelon has a three-month crop, so the planting area is also fluctuating. According to Mr. Nguyen, the most important thing when there is a protocol is that the output price of this item is more stable.
The risk of watermelon exports is coming to an end thanks to the protocol.
“Currently, watermelon is an export product with a higher value than lychee, longan, and rambutan, with a turnover of more than 50 million USD per year. When the Protocol comes into effect, the export of this item is expected to reach 80–100 million USD per year, thereby helping people increase their income and stick with this item,” Mr. Nguyen said. The protocol for official watermelon export to China will make the output of this product more stable.
In many localities, at this time, people are in the watermelon harvest. Mr. Nguyen Canh Tan in Nam Dan district, Nghe An province, said that due to the hot weather, they have a good crop. His family has an area of more than four hectares of watermelon. For now, two hectares have been harvested, with an output of 25 tons.
According to Mr. Tan, this year, traders are more active. The price of watermelon sold in the field ranges from 6,000 to 8,000 VND per kg, depending on the size, up from 2,000 to 2,500 VND per kg compared to last year. On average, each hectare of watermelon brings people 50–60 million VND in profit, much higher than rice or corn.
The Leader of the Plant Protection Department, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that official exports of watermelons have been carried out since 2009. However, without the protocol, export activities are more risky. For many years, they had to “rescue” watermelons or encountered congestion at the border gate.
According to the Leader of the Plant Protection Department, when the Protocol officially comes into force in the coming days, it will raise the export requirements to a new level. Meeting the standards of the importing country will create confidence and grounds for quick customs clearance from the Chinese side, contributing to reducing congestion at the border gate.
“Up to now, 162 watermelon-growing regions and more than 1,000 packaging facilities in 38 provinces have been granted codes to export watermelons to China. This is an important step in standardizing regulations on agricultural exports between the two countries.
When there is a protocol, watermelon will be standardized. In the long run, it will create a closer link between growers, packers, and exporters, promoting production on a larger scale,” said the leader of the Plant Protection Department. /.