Not durian but "passion fruit" captivates Europe—Q1 export value up 73% to US$30.5 million, topping fruit bound for the EU

Vietnamese passion fruit is surging in the European market. According to figures from the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association (Vinafruit), passion fruit exports to the EU in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026 reached about US$30.5 million (about ¥4.7275 billion), a record 73% increase year on year. Behind this momentum, which put it at the top of EU-bound fruit exports, are the benefits of tariff elimination under the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

Q1 exports of US$30.5 million — the shock of a 73% year-on-year rise

According to Dang Phuc Nguyen, secretary-general of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, passion fruit stands out not only in scale but in matching the consumption trends of the European market. Q1 total produce exports to the EU were about US$121 million (about ¥18.755 billion), up 33% year on year. Of that, passion fruit accounted for more than 25%, surpassing cashew nuts (US$26.5 million / up 137%).

Notably, about two-thirds of the passion fruit is shipped as processed products. In the form of puree and juice concentrate, it is supplied to juice and confectionery makers within the EU, opening the market in a high-value-added form.

The 'zero tariff' door that EVFTA opened

The EVFTA, which took effect in August 2020, is phasing out tariffs on about 94% of all 547 items in the produce sector. Processed passion fruit (HS code 2009) was already a major reduction target at entry into force and, as of 2026, can be exported at an effectively zero tariff. This institutional advantage has greatly boosted the price competitiveness of Vietnamese passion fruit.

Full-year 2025 produce exports to the EU reached about US$480 million, and passion fruit's cumulative export value was US$112.8 million (up 52.75% year on year). Compared with US$41.6 million in 2021, that works out to about 2.7 times the growth in four years.

The full picture of produce exports to the EU

In Q1 EU-bound exports, several items besides passion fruit are growing rapidly. The EU's strategy of diversifying its import sources is a tailwind.

* Converted at US$1 = 155 yen

The Netherlands is the largest destination, accounting for about 28% of total EU-bound exports (about US$37 million). Spain-bound exports grew rapidly at 83%, followed by Poland, Germany, and France.

Reactions on the ground and in the industry

Dang Phuc Nguyen, secretary-general of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, analyzes passion fruit's surge in the EU market as a confluence of EVFTA's tariff benefits and post-pandemic health consciousness.

On the EU side, moves to increase sourcing from Vietnam as part of an import-source diversification strategy are accelerating. In 2025, the EU's number of safety alerts against Vietnamese agricultural products and food halved from 114 to 60 (down 48%), and trust on the quality front is steadily rising.

Strawberry producers in Lam Dong province report that obtaining GlobalGAP certification and investing in elevated-bed cultivation facilities were the keys to export expansion. Behind the 736-fold surge in strawberry exports from the province are such steady efforts by the growing region.

Impact on Japanese importers and agricultural stakeholders

The EVFTA success model offers implications for Japanese agribusiness as well. First, Vietnamese passion fruit puree and concentrate can become new sourcing candidates for Japan's juice makers and sweets industry. Tariff reductions between Japan and Vietnam through CPTPP are also advancing in parallel, and the cost structure of raw-material imports may change.

At the same time, Vietnam's capture of the EU market with processed-product exports as the main axis is also instructive for taking Japan's regional produce overseas. Rather than competing on freshness, a strategy of adding value through processing and packaging is effective.

Ripple effects on the industry

Vietnam's produce exports reached an annual scale of about US$8 billion in 2025, with US$10 billion in sight for 2026. EU-bound exports are only about 6% of that, but in growth rate they are expanding at a pace rivaling China-bound exports (double-digit growth).

As GlobalGAP certification spreads, access expands simultaneously not only to the EU but to other high-income markets such as Japan and Australia. The Vietnamese government has set a target of expanding the area of GlobalGAP-certified farms by 20% in 2026, and that progress will sway the whole industry's export capacity.

Vietnam's success is also a spur for competing countries within ASEAN (Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines). Thailand in particular is the surge in Bac Giang lychee exports to China watching item-by-item success cases like this one closely.

Practical information

Summary

In the shadow of durian sweeping the China market, passion fruit is quietly but surely capturing the high-value-added market that is the EU. The 73% rise in Q1 is not a passing boom but lies on the extension of four years of structural growth since EVFTA took effect. It is the result of these conditions coming together: an export model centered on processed products, the spread of GlobalGAP certification, and the EU's need to diversify sourcing. For Japanese agricultural stakeholders, too, there are hints here for an export strategy built around processed products.

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Source: Người Lao Động (May 4, 2026)