ECONOMIC POTENTIAL OF PASSION FRUIT

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, from 2015 to present, the consumption market, especially the processing and export regime of passion fruit, has been expanded, with an average growth rate in area in the period 2015-2022 reaching 31.1%/year (equivalent to 1,000 ha/year).

 

Passion fruit currently has a growing area of ​​up to 9,500ha with an output of 188,900 tons, among the group of 18 products with an output of over 100,000 tons per year in Vietnam.

 

Passion fruit (passion fruit) belongs to the genus Passiflora edulis, the family of Passifloraceae, is a nutritious fruit, rich in antioxidants, minerals, vitamins and fiber. Passion fruit was first introduced to Vietnam during the French colonial period. Before 2015, passion fruit was mainly grown in Lam Dong and Dak Nong provinces.

 

Therefore, with many large passion fruit producing countries in the world, Vietnam can produce passion fruit all year round. In which, the Central Highlands is the main commercial passion fruit producing region, using more than 90% of the passion fruit growing area in the country.

 

The Central Highlands has about 8,200 hectares of passion fruit in 2022. In which, Gia Lai is currently the province with the largest passion fruit capacity with more than 4,263 hectares, the product reaching more than 134,000 tons in 2022 (currently also the locality collecting, concentrating enterprises investing in seed production, processing and consuming the largest passion fruit in the country); followed by Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Lam Dong provinces.

 

The Northern midlands and mountainous region is the second largest passion fruit growing region with more than 1,000 hectares (more than 11%), mainly concentrated in Son La province (Department of Soaking, 2023). The main passion fruit variety today is the purple variety Dai Nong 1 (LPH04), which accounts for more than 95% of the growing area.

 

Vietnam has become one of the largest producers and exporters of passion fruit in the world, ranking in the top 10 supplying countries, after countries such as Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. From July 2022, Vietnamese passion fruit has been officially exported to the Chinese market, opening up opportunities for production expansion. In the same year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development issued Directive No. 8084/CT-BNN-TT on sustainable development of passion fruit production.

 

Thus, the passion fruit industry not only plays an important role in Vietnam's agriculture but also opens up many economic development opportunities through export jobs, while affirming Vietnam's position in the international market. However, to maintain and develop sustainably, integrated plant health management and response to pests on passion fruit need to be given more attention and investment.

 

In recent years, due to the high demand of foreign markets for fresh whole fruits and processed beverage products, Vietnamese passion fruit has high export prospects with 80% of products dedicated to the international market with stable growth.