{"id":1580,"date":"2026-09-26T02:17:43","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T17:17:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vietnam-agri.com\/industry_news\/michi-fruits-allocation\/"},"modified":"2026-09-26T02:17:43","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T17:17:43","slug":"michi-fruits-allocation","status":"publish","type":"industry_news","link":"https:\/\/vietnam-agri.com\/en\/industry_news\/michi-fruits-allocation\/","title":{"rendered":"Coconut at 5\u201310 Containers a Week Goes Only to Europe and the US; Where Is Japan's Room to Enter?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u201310 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.<\/p>\n

The 5\u201310 containers a week of coconut is the combined figure for Europe and the US<\/h2>\n

Care is needed in how this '5\u201310' 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\u201310 containers a week.' It is not 5\u201310 to Europe and 5\u201310 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.<\/p>\n

Destinations split across dragon fruit, passion fruit and mango<\/h3>\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Items<\/th>\nMain destination<\/th>\nTransport mode<\/th>\nFrequency and quantity<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Coconut<\/td>\nEurope and the US<\/td>\nSea<\/td>\nAbout 5\u201310 containers a week for the two markets combined<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dragon fruit<\/td>\nEurope<\/td>\nAir<\/td>\nNot stated<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Passion fruit<\/td>\nMainly France, some to the Netherlands<\/td>\nNot stated<\/td>\nNot stated<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mango<\/td>\nAustralia (mainly Melbourne)<\/td>\nSea while green, air as ripeness advances<\/td>\nAbout 1 container a week<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Without knowing the container size, you cannot convert to weight<\/h3>\n

The unit of 5\u201310 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<\/strong> if you confirm these, you can put the counterpart's spare supply capacity on the same footing as your own order lot.<\/p>\n

This is talk of increasing from September after the rainy season, not the figure after the increase<\/h2>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Late May to late August is the low-volume period<\/h3>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The addition of Brisbane is spoken of as next year's plan<\/h3>\n

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<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

Overlaying Michi's four commodities on national export statistics, the gains and losses diverge<\/h2>\n

Dragon fruit and mango fell below the previous year, while passion fruit and coconut grew<\/h3>\n

An article this site laid out in September Cashew up 111% draws level with dragon fruit: Vietnam's fruit exports reshuffle<\/a> showed that, in the January\u2013July 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\u2013August, 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Items<\/th>\nMichi's handling<\/th>\nNational export trends (tally in this site's earlier reporting)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Coconut<\/td>\nTo Europe and the US by sea, 5\u201310 containers a week for the two markets combined<\/td>\nTo the US, US$105.27 million in January\u2013July, up 28%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Passion fruit<\/td>\nMainly France, some to the Netherlands<\/td>\nUS$186.8 million in January\u2013July, up 25.6%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dragon fruit<\/td>\nTo Europe by air<\/td>\nUS$321.9 million in January\u2013July, down 1.6%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mango<\/td>\nTo Australia, about 1 container a week<\/td>\nUS$265 million in January\u2013July, down 2.5%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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.<\/p>\n

US$105.27 million in coconut to the US backs up the orientation toward Europe and the US<\/h3>\n

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<\/a> In the customs-department tally covered in that article, coconut exports to the US for January\u2013July 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.<\/p>\n

Vietnamese peers put out low prices, and Michi named price as his own challenge<\/h2>\n

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.<\/p>\n

This is a story about price competition; go get the comparable unit prices separately<\/h3>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The US$1.99 per unit at US retail is a retail-stage figure<\/h3>\n

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<\/strong> was about US$1.99 per unit and US$16.99\u201317 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.<\/p>\n

Material Japanese buyers can verify before a negotiation<\/h2>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Certification is for four commodities including coconut, with a term of one year<\/h3>\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Item<\/th>\nContent (the company's site as of September 25, 2026)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Company name<\/td>\nMICHI Fruit Company Limited (reported as Michi Fruits)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Location<\/td>\nNo 435 Quarter 25, Dao Thanh Ward, Dong Thap Province, Vietnam<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Contact details<\/td>\nPhone, WhatsApp, Viber +84 945 87 87 82<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GLOBALG.A.P.\uff0fGRASP<\/td>\nPer the company's site, all run October 23, 2025 to October 22, 2026. GLOBALG.A.P. covers coconut, dragon fruit, longan and passion fruit<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
SMETA<\/td>\nStart date September 22, 2025<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Other<\/td>\nHACCP, FDA certificates<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Which commodities it switches between sea and air for<\/h3>\n

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 \u2014 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.<\/p>\n

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\u201310 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.<\/p>\n

Sources<\/h2>\n