Vietnam boasts a rich source of agricultural products that can be processed into clean, high-value goods with strong competitiveness. If Vietnamese agriculture shifts toward organic methods, it will gain greater price advantages. This is the view of Mr. Nguyễn Lâm Viên – Vice Chairman of the High-Quality Vietnamese Goods Business Association and CEO of Vinamit – shared during a seminar organized by the Business Studies and Assistance Center (BSA).

Large Output, Unstable Markets

Mr. Đỗ Văn Dũng, Director of Bé Dũng Import-Export Trading Service Co., Ltd. (Bình Thuận), noted that after over 20 years of development, Bình Thuận has a large supply of dragon fruit, but 70–80% is exported to China, making the market unstable.

Although fresh dragon fruit exports to other countries are increasing, income for growers and businesses is declining. Exporting to markets like Europe and the U.S. takes time, and fresh dragon fruit often doesn’t meet the requirements.

“I searched for solutions for dragon fruit many times, but it wasn’t until 2014 that I met a company introducing advanced clean agricultural technology. By the end of that year, I imported a soft-drying machine for dragon fruit. It cost over 20 billion VND, so I had to mortgage my entire house to get a loan,” said Mr. Dũng.

“At that time, it felt like a gamble—if it failed, I’d lose everything. For months, my company focused on experimenting with soft-dried dragon fruit. It took nearly 20 tons of fruit before we finally created today’s product,” he said, proudly showing off a thin, rice-paper-like slice of dried dragon fruit, promising to attract consumers.

Clean Fruit Products Gaining Traction

Mr. Võ Phát Triển, Director of Việt Đức Food Technology Co., Ltd., has had a smoother journey. For the past 10 years, his soft-dried mango has been favored by German customers thanks to clean raw materials.

Demand continues to grow, with some clients requesting three 40-foot containers per month, but Mr. Triển had to decline due to limited capacity. He hopes more Vietnamese businesses will join in producing clean agricultural products to expand exports.
Mr. Nguyễn Lâm Viên added, “Recently at a U.S. trade fair, many foreign partners told me that for high economic efficiency, Vietnam should focus on organic products.”

Organic Products Add 50% More Value

Vinamit’s CEO shared that from the beginning, the company aimed to produce health-oriented foods, though it faced challenges due to the trend being uncommon in Vietnam. Still, Vinamit stayed the course. “We don’t use Cavendish bananas, even though they look and taste better. Instead, we use Siamese bananas from a natural forest in U Minh Thượng and U Minh Hạ (Mekong Delta), covering 6,000–10,000 hectares—a long-term source of raw materials,” Mr. Viên explained.

Experts agree that organic agriculture is a viable path for Vietnam’s integration into global markets. Organic products are standard foods produced without 80 types of chemicals and fertilizers.

Looking ahead, Mr. Viên believes organic development will give Vietnamese goods a competitive edge internationally. “Vietnamese agriculture is characterized by small-scale farming. If we pursue large-scale industrial farming, we’ll face difficulties. But by going organic, our products will be more price-competitive. Processed organic goods can increase in value by at least 50% compared to conventional ones,” he said.

Unlocking Potential Through Technology

Mr. Phạm Minh Thiện, CEO of Cỏ May Co., sees Vietnam’s agriculture as abundant and full of potential for clean product development through advanced technology. Vietnam has many crops suitable for organic processing, such as gac fruit and lotus.

“In addition to producing animal feed and exporting rice, Cỏ May realized there are more exciting opportunities. Instead of using rice bran for pig feed, we applied science and technology to extract rice bran oil, which contains valuable ingredients for cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. We also use advanced tech to produce clean straw mushrooms that foreign experts confidently season and eat on the spot,” Mr. Thiện shared.

Supporting Youth in the Organic Movement

Mr. Viên recalled that in 2014, Vinamit needed a large amount of worm castings to enrich its crops. After a long search, he found a facility in Nha Trang that could meet the demand.
The owner was a young person who had struggled to develop their business. Therefore, it’s essential to create opportunities for young people to engage in organic farming, as they are quick to adapt to new trends.