Coconut at 5–10 Containers a Week Goes Only to Europe and the US; Where Is Japan's Room to Enter?

The Vietnamese produce exporter Michi Fruits revealed, in an interview, its destinations by commodity and the number of containers shipped per week. In an article FreshPlaza published on September 23, 2026, the company's Eric Michi states that it ships coconut to the two markets of Europe and the US combined at roughly 5–10 containers a week, and mango to Australia at roughly 1 container a week. The interview article contains no mention of shipments to Japan. Even so, knowing that this is a counterpart that fixes destinations by commodity is itself material for Japanese food buyers before a negotiation.

The 5–10 containers a week of coconut is the combined figure for Europe and the US

Care is needed in how this '5–10' figure applies. Michi's statement takes the form: 'Coconut's main markets are Europe and the US, and together the two markets take roughly 5–10 containers a week.' It is not 5–10 to Europe and 5–10 to the US. It is the total of the two markets, and the breakdown between Europe and the US is not given. Nor is it a target value; it is the number actually being shipped at the time of the interview.

Destinations split across dragon fruit, passion fruit and mango

The company handles four commodities, each heading to a different market. Dragon fruit goes to Europe by air, passion fruit mainly to France with some to the Netherlands, and mango to Australia with Melbourne the main landing point. Michi also states, 'We send coconut and dragon fruit only to Europe and the US. Right now we send no dragon fruit at all to Asian markets.' The decision to leave out Asian markets is made commodity by commodity.

Without knowing the container size, you cannot convert to weight

The unit of 5–10 containers a week is hard to convert into the listener's own scale. Whether it is 20-foot or 40-foot, and whether the coconuts are whole in-husk or trimmed of the outer husk, changes both the weight and the count loaded onto one container. The interview article does not touch on that, and from this figure alone the tonnage cannot be pinned down. At the start of a negotiation, the container specification and loading form if you confirm these, you can put the counterpart's spare supply capacity on the same footing as your own order lot.

This is talk of increasing from September after the rainy season, not the figure after the increase

Michi marks this year's rainy season as late May to late August and explains that volume falls below the fair-weather period. On that basis, he says supply is expected to rise from September, and that he wants to increase shipments to existing markets while also adding destinations. The increase is a matter still to come.

Late May to late August is the low-volume period

What Michi spoke about is the overall rise and fall across commodities combined. If you want to pin down quantities, it fits practice better to have them provide, not the annual average number of containers, but how far it drops in the lean season, broken down by month. Michi also states that while sea transport is far cheaper than air, the longer number of days means a ship's delay becomes a quality risk.

The addition of Brisbane is spoken of as next year's plan

As for Australia, it is phrased as there being a plan to expand to Brisbane in addition to Melbourne next year. It is not that shipments are already being made. Rereading it as 'supplying to two Australian cities' would overestimate the counterpart's track record by one notch. An article that laid out the move in which 22 Vietnamese companies exhibited at Asia Fruit Logistica 2026 in Hong Kong 22 Vietnamese firms at Hong Kong's Asia Fruit show: the names of partners moving beyond China wrote that companies that name their destinations become an entry point for Japanese trading houses. Michi goes one level more granular than that, attaching destinations by commodity down to the number of containers per week.

Overlaying Michi's four commodities on national export statistics, the gains and losses diverge

Dragon fruit and mango fell below the previous year, while passion fruit and coconut grew

An article this site laid out in September Cashew up 111% draws level with dragon fruit: Vietnam's fruit exports reshuffle showed that, in the January–July 2026 tally, dragon fruit was US$321.9 million, down 1.6%, mango US$265 million, down 2.5%, and passion fruit US$186.8 million, up 25.6% (source: an industry tally via Mekong ASEAN). Because these are declines from the previous year in a phase where total exports were US$5.87 billion for January–August, up 21.8%, their share is falling. That dragon fruit is among the commodities Michi emphasizes does not mesh with the national trend, but the company ships it to Europe by air. Earlier reporting cited competition in the Chinese market as the background to dragon fruit's year-on-year decline, and the company's placement sidesteps that main battleground.

The sources for the right-hand column are, for the US, customs-department figures reported by VnExpress, and for the rest, via Mekong ASEAN. The tallying source differs from the left-hand column, so you cannot derive a share by dividing the company's container count by the national value.

US$105.27 million in coconut to the US backs up the orientation toward Europe and the US

The decision to direct coconut toward Europe and the US corresponds to figures on the demand side. Vietnamese coconut tops fresh-produce exports to the US: US$105.27 million, over 3.2 times mango In the customs-department tally covered in that article, coconut exports to the US for January–July 2026 were US$105.27 million, accounting for 29% of the roughly US$361 million in produce to the US. Over the same period, mango to the US was US$32.3 million and dragon fruit to the US US$26.7 million. Michi's placement is in a form that rides this demand.

Vietnamese peers put out low prices, and Michi named price as his own challenge

The interview article puts price pressure among Vietnamese players front and center. A line carried as Michi's statement reads, 'Because many Vietnamese exporters put very low prices into the market, pricing is my challenge.' Even narrowing destinations to Europe and the US, one cannot escape the competition.

This is a story about price competition; go get the comparable unit prices separately

What the interview article addresses is the situation of price competition; it does not go as far as Michi's FOB price or purchase price. For Vietnamese produce, even the same commodity changes by an order of magnitude across delivery at the field, delivery at the sorting or processing plant, export FOB, the wholesale price after import, and the retail shelf. Deriving a multiple without aligning the stages breaks the premise of the negotiation.

The US$1.99 per unit at US retail is a retail-stage figure

Material for getting a rough sense of the level is in this site's earlier reporting. In the explanation by the CEO of Vina T&T conveyed by VnExpress, fresh Vietnamese coconut at the US retail stage was about US$1.99 per unit and US$16.99–17 for a box of nine. This is a shelf price given by a different exporter, not Michi's quoted price or FOB. It does not serve as material for deriving a multiple, and is limited to the purpose of checking the price band of final demand.

Material Japanese buyers can verify before a negotiation

This interview article does not touch on Michi's shipments to Japan. On the other hand, the information the company publishes on its own website yields material that can be verified before a first meeting.

Certification is for four commodities including coconut, with a term of one year

The company's certification page states that the GLOBALG.A.P. validity period runs from October 23, 2025 to October 22, 2026, and lists four target commodities: coconut, dragon fruit, longan and passion fruit. GRASP is for the same period, and SMETA is listed with a start date of September 22, 2025. All are entries on the company's site, with terms running one year. What matters in practice is the range of target commodities. Since the mango for Australia is not among the four commodities listed on the page, it is best to verify in the first inquiry the latest certificates and registration numbers, and which standard each commodity is managed under.

Which commodities it switches between sea and air for

In Michi's explanation, green mango goes by sea, by air as ripeness advances; dragon fruit for Europe also by air; and coconut by sea — the choice of transport mode is directly a matter of quality conditions. However, the ripeness design for Australia cannot necessarily be applied to Japan as is. Both quarantine conditions and the number of days on a route differ by destination. It is best to ask, by commodity, how many days the existing route takes and at what ripeness it ships.

If you narrow the business of the first email to one thing, it is to have them provide, by commodity, the number of containers already committed to existing destinations from October to December. The 1 container a week to Australia and 5–10 a week of coconut to Europe and the US are the current allocation, and the interview article does not reveal the destinations for the increase from September on. If there is a remainder after subtracting what is committed, that is the room for Japan to make an approach. Asking in the same message for the certified commodities and the latest certificates lets you move, from the next step, to the discussion of price and trade stage.

Sources

• FreshPlaza, 'Vietnamese fruit exports diversify as price pressure intensifies' (September 23, 2026)
• MICHI Fruit Company Limited certification page (accessed September 25, 2026)
• Vietnamese coconut tops fresh-produce exports to the US: US$105.27 million, over 3.2 times mango
• Cashew up 111% draws level with dragon fruit: Vietnam's fruit exports reshuffle
• 22 Vietnamese firms at Hong Kong's Asia Fruit show: the names of partners moving beyond China