With the quality of local bananas meeting Japan’s quality standards, there is plenty of room ahead for Vietnamese banana exports in the Japanese market moving forward.

This year has seen Japan mainly import bananas from the Philippines reaching a total of 557,000 tonnes over the eight-month period worth US$418.1 million, a decline of 0.6% in volume and up 5.2% in value compared to the same period from last year.

Most notably, while Japan's imports of bananas from major markets endured a downward trajectory in volume, its imports from Vietnam, Peru, Indonesia, Thailand, and Laos recorded an upward trend during the reviewed period.

Japan's banana imports from Vietnam in eight months hit 5,700 tonnes, worth US$4.6 million, up 20.1% in volume and 37.7% in value compared to the same period from last year.

The proportion of imports from the Vietnamese market made up only 0.8% of the total amount of bananas imported into Japan, up 0.2% on-year.

Experts assessed that Vietnamese fruit has made inroads into the Japanese market since 2013, adding that relevant production and plant protection procedures are required to meet international safety standards in order to enter the selective market. Furthermore, the planting area of raw material and packaging facilities must be assigned with a code.

Think thanks have revealed that Japanese consumers do not pay close attention to the price, but instead choose products based on their quality.

This penetration into the demanding market will therefore help Vietnamese fruit, including bananas, to enter other demanding markets more conveniently.

Representatives from the Vietnamese Trade Office in Japan said not only bananas, but many other local agricultural products and foodstuffs have won the trust of Japanese consumers, noting that quality is considered to be a crucial factor in helping Vietnamese goods create their own brands and compete with goods from rivals.

Source: VOV