Early this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), in cooperation with other government agencies, got Vietnam to open its market to U.S. grapefruit. Fresh citrus grower, harvester and packer Wonderful Citrus, which has worked with the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) to grow its exports, saw a ripe new opportunity.
“Wonderful Citrus and our grower partners are excited for the opportunity to delve into the new market in Vietnam for our … grapefruit from Texas,” said Zak Laffite, president of Wonderful Citrus.
The opening of a new grapefruit market in Vietnam is especially timely for Texas growers. “The Texas grapefruit industry is making a comeback after a devastating freeze that affected crops in 2021,” said Laffite. “Given the resurgence of crops, it is important to focus on new market opportunities to sell Texas grapefruits, which will positively impact farmers and employment in the state.”
FAS and Wonderful Citrus, which has offices in California and Texas, have worked together for years through the Market Access Program. MAP partners with U.S. agricultural trade associations, cooperatives, trade groups and small businesses to share the costs of overseas marketing and promotional activities to build commercial export markets for U.S. agricultural products and commodities.
Wonderful Citrus is one of the many grapefruit exporters who can now benefit from the Vietnam market being open to their product. The United States is one of the leading grapefruit-producing countries, with grapefruit exports reaching nearly $33 million in 2022.
USDA estimates the potential value of U.S. grapefruit exports to Vietnam at $15 million annually.
FAS reported that the top export markets for U.S. citrus in 2022 were Canada, with an export value of $210.67 million, South Korea ($190.15 million), Japan ($128.9 million), Hong Kong ($46.48 million), Mexico ($39.2 million) and China ($30.45 million).
Source: USDA FAS
Share this Post
Sponsored Content