According to Nguyen Van Thanh, director general of the Vietnam Fruit, Vegetables and Agricultural Products Corporation, the biggest challenge to the fruit and vegetables sector after the country joined the WTO will be price and quality. At the moment, Vietnamese fruits and vegetables are higher than those from regional countries; for example, the price of Thai durian is US$1 per kilogram but that of Vietnamese durian is doubled. Other Vietnamese fruits such as mango and dragon fruit are even two or three times higher than those on sale in Thailand. Vietnamese fruits and vegetables find it difficult to compete with those from Thailand and China as the two countries have a lot of high-quality fruits and vegetables. If Vietnam does not have a suitable development it will lose out to foreign competitors right on the home turf.

Due to small-scale production, shortage of materials, and weak management of pesticide residue, the quality of Vietnamese agriculture products is low. In the meantime, many countries in the world have applied strict food hygiene and safety regulations. After joining the WTO, the country will implement its commitment to cut taxes for agriculture products, eliminate export subsidy, open the services market and allow wholly foreign-invested enterprises to engage in the goods distribution network.

On the other hand, due to lack of information and weak co-ordination between enterprises and farmers, goods are often sold passively at cheap prices.

Mai Quoc Thai, vice chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Farm Club said the city currently has 700 farms which provide a lot of goods and generate thousands of jobs for local people.

In recent years, the fruit and vegetables sector has actively invested in technology and new varieties to improve the quality of products and build development strategies. It has built and upgraded processing facilities in frozen fruit and vegetables factories with a combined capacity of 100,000 tonnes a year.

Dong Giao Food Export Company has a processing capacity of 19,000 tonnes a year but the distribution of its products is controlled by International Standards Organization ISO (2000) and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP).

The company’s Deputy Director Trinh Khac Kiem said if Dong Giao failes to meet ISO and HACCP international standards, foreign companies will not buy its products. However, as the country has now joined the WTO, the company are much likely to reduce its production output and suffer losses due to high input costs. This is a complicated matter enterprises will have to solve in the near future.

The fruit and vegetables sector is planning to import new varieties with high quality and productivity and focus on trademark promotion through domestic and international food and drink fairs. To help enterprise overcome difficulties, all localities should co-operate to ensure a stable supply of materials to them in the first place.