Vietnam Enters Market in a Big Way

In July of 2014, Oregon Blueberry Commission Administrator Bryan Ostlund invited himself along on a potato promotions trade mission to Vietnam that was being led by then Oregon Department of Agriculture Director Katy Coba.

Oregon Blueberry Commission Administrator Bryan Ostlund answers questions at a press conference launching Oregon Blueberries into the Vientam market

This past summer, five years later to the month, during a decidedly blueberry-focused trade mission, Vietnam stepped forward in a big way. Today, the southeast Asian nation is poised to be the Oregon blueberry industry’s largest Asian customer for fresh fruit.

“Six months ago, I would have guessed that we would maybe ship 300,000 to 500,000 pounds to Vietnam this year,” Ostlund said upon returning from the mission this past July. “I wouldn’t be surprised now if we exceed 3 million pounds.”

Blueberries are now the fifth fresh fruit from the U.S. that Vietnam allows on its grocery shelves, joining apples, cherries, table grapes and pears. “It is a pretty small group,” Ostlund said.

Organized by the Oregon and Washington blueberry commissions, this past summer’s trade mission was designed to get a head start on a market that holds significant promise for U.S. blueberry shippers, Ostlund said. And it worked to perfection.

“It was a success from any way you want to look at it,” Ostlund said. “From our very first meeting with importers in Ho Chi Minh City, we could see that we were really onto something. We received very positive comments about things like not being able to get blueberries fast enough. And that message was common through all of our meetings.”

The mission included a promotional event attended by the U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, Daniel Kritenbrink, that generated coverage from major Vietnamese television networks and nationally distributed newspapers.

Consumer samples Oregon Blueberries at VinMart launch.

Also during the mission, VinMart, a major Vietnamese grocery chain that is expected to increase its current franchise number from 2,000 stores to 3,000 stores by next year, increased its sales forecast of fresh U.S. blueberries from slightly less than 1 million pounds, to 1.2 million pounds, and then to 1.5 million pounds by the time the entourage departed.

“It was one of those moments that make all the work at opening these markets worthwhile,” Ostlund said. “After five years of working on this, to have all the pieces come together was just tremendous.”

He added, “I have the deepest respect for our Vietnamese partners, including the Vietnamese government. This has been a team effort.”

Ostlund noted that Oregon and Washington growers are poised to be the big beneficiaries of this year’s developments, given that blueberry harvests in California, Florida, Georgia and other major blueberry producing states were winding down or had completed harvest by the time the mission was conducted.

“That is why Oregon and Washington jumped in at this time,” Ostlund said. “We kind of shepherded this project to make sure the Oregon and Washington seasons got off to a good start, and, in hindsight, it was a wise choice.”

Bryan Ostlund discussess the characteristics of Oregon & Washington blueberries to the United States Ambassador to Vietnam.

Ostlund expects blueberry shippers from other states to jump into Vietnam next year. “This could start with Florida early in the year, and as each production region comes on, they could be supplying the Vietnamese market,” he said.

The Oregon Blueberry Commission’s strategy to date in Asia has involved focusing on middle-tier markets like Vietnam, South Korea, which opened its borders to fresh Oregon blueberries eight years ago, and the Philippines.

“I like that the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council and others are trying to develop the Chinese market, but I thought it best if we kind of worked around the edges,” Ostlund said. “It started with Korea, and then five years ago, applications went in to Vietnam and the Philippines.”

South Korea is expected to import around 1.5 million pounds of fresh blueberries from Oregon this year. Oregon is the only state in the U.S. allowed to ship fresh blueberries into Korea.

Ostlund said he doubts the Philippines will open their borders to fresh U.S. blueberries in 2019, but he is hopeful the country will do so in 2020.

While gaining access to the immense Chinese market remains a priority for the U.S. blueberry industry, having market access to Vietnam, South Korea and, potentially, the Philippines, helps in the meantime, Ostlund said.

“If nothing else, it is a matter of diversity,” he said, “and it is working well for everybody.”