Murcia will export the first table grapes to Vietnam next summer

Murcia will export the first table grapes to Vietnam next summer, after the positive results of the commercial mission, organized by the Development Institute of the Region of Murcia, and the interest, both of the importers of this Southeast Asian country and of the six exporting companies that have been part of the commercial mission, integrated in APOEXPA.

The companies that have participated in the commercial mission: Moyca Grapes, El Ciruelo SA, Frutas Esther SA, Uniland Sociedad Cooperativa, Frutas Torero SA and Hispagroup have valued the interest of Vietnamese importers, who consider that table grapes from from Spain can be a new source of supply for the period from June to October in which the production of Murcia is in the middle of the campaign.

According to Joaquín Gómez, president of APOEXPA, an association integrated in FEPEX, in the reverse mission has been verified the high interest of the Spanish grape in Vietnam, a country with which there is already an export protocol, that the Ministry of Agriculture and the authorities of Vietnam concluded last December, with a small delegation of importers expected to visit farms in Murcia in June to start shipping later.

In the meetings held, the heads of the Ministry of Agriculture of Vietnam, specifically the Department of Plant Protection, and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of this country, have committed to expedite the entry of grape exports into the country as much as possible. Spanish table, avoiding logistic brakes that could cause retentions of merchandise in ports and airports.

There was also a meeting with the Ambassador of Spain in Vietnam, María Jesús Figa, to analyze different aspects of the opportunities for commercial relations of the Region of Murcia with this country.

Murcia is the leading autonomous exporter of table grapes in Spain with 116,153 tonnes in 2018 and 236 million euros, 70% of the national total, which amounted to 170,656 tonnes and 337 million euros. Much of this growth is due to the positive evolution of the seedless table grape. Murcia table grape exports in 2018 grew by 24% in volume in relation to 2017 and 25% in value, according to data from the Department of Customs and Special Taxes, processed by FEPEX.