Coconut exports grow over 20% in the first half of the year

Coconuts are among Vietnam’s agricultural products that have maintained strong growth momentum since the beginning of the year. According to Mr. Cao Ba Dang Khoa, General Secretary of the Vietnam Coconut Association, exports of four key product groups in the coconut industry in the first six months of this year reached over USD 520 million, an increase of more than 20% compared to the same period in 2024. Major product categories include food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals made from coconuts; handicrafts, wood, and agricultural substrates; raw materials such as crude coconut oil, coconut milk powder, frozen coconuts, frozen coconut milk, fresh coconuts, and others.

Typically, coconut exports and coconut-based products peak in the third and fourth quarters. Therefore, with exports already rising more than 20% in the first half of the year, this signals a favorable outlook for the industry in 2025. Mr. Khoa forecast that the total export value of the coconut industry in 2025 will increase by 20–25% compared to nearly USD 1.1 billion in 2024.

According to Mr. Khoa, Vietnam’s coconut industry still has significant room to increase export value. For whole coconuts alone, exports could far exceed the USD 390 million mark achieved in 2024.

He pointed out that coconut prices in Vietnam have recently seen a breakthrough surge. While in 2023, the average farm-gate price was VND 5,000 per coconut, by the third quarter of 2025, it had reached VND 15,000 per coconut. This sharp rise was something many traders and long-time coconut farmers had not anticipated.

Although coconut prices in Vietnam have increased substantially, there remains a wide gap compared to retail prices in many markets. For example, fresh coconuts in U.S. supermarkets are priced around USD 5.5 each, equivalent to VND 140,000. In Finland and some Northern European countries, fresh coconuts cost about EUR 5–6 each, equivalent to VND 180,000–190,000. In supermarkets in Beijing, China, prices range from VND 60,000–70,000 per coconut.

Mr. Khoa assessed that this significant price gap will encourage more businesses to invest in the coconut industry to boost export-standard production confidently. Businesses could focus on strengthening investments in planting, harvesting, preservation, logistics, product design, and packaging technologies to improve the competitiveness of Vietnamese coconut products. Coconut farmers, in turn, can be reassured about their long-term commitment to this crop.

However, for Vietnam’s coconut industry to effectively leverage the vast opportunities in the market, it must accelerate sustainable development practices. These include shifting cultivation methods, innovating processing, and building an eco-friendly, climate-resilient coconut industry that reduces greenhouse gas emissions and minimizes negative impacts on human life.

Mr. Khoa emphasized the need to establish a legal framework and timely adjustments regarding plant protection, food safety, and labor safety. Examples include banning the breeding and trading of coconut pests; prohibiting the use of toxic chemical pesticides that affect human health; banning unsafe machinery in coconut production; and strengthening specialized training for farmers and workers in the industry.

Coconut businesses should optimize costs by automating processing stages and managing them with artificial intelligence. At the same time, companies must ensure transparency throughout the production process, strictly comply with food safety and occupational safety standards, build a strong corporate culture, and promote sustainable farming.

In addition, Vietnam’s coconut industry needs to focus more on developing a national branding strategy and creating a unique identity for coconut products in the global market. Expanding trade promotion, participating in international fairs and exhibitions will help affirm the position of Vietnamese coconut products and broaden the customer network. Meanwhile, research collaboration to develop new coconut-based products such as functional foods, premium cosmetics, and green materials for modern industries will open long-term growth opportunities for the sector.

Coconut businesses also need to foster a culture of healthy competition, avoid price-cutting strategies, and build interconnected supply chains among Vietnamese coconut enterprises to compete fairly with other countries in the global coconut market.

Farmers seeking to export coconuts should make systematic investments in coconut care and intercrop suitable plants in coconut gardens to increase economic efficiency. They should also grow soil-enriching crops to reduce fertilizer use. Farmers should use natural predators to control coconut pests and diseases instead of chemical pesticides. Planting flowers to create eco-tourism environments in coconut gardens is also encouraged.

* $1 = VND 26.497 - Source: Vietcombank.