Dragon Fruit Traceability Introduced in Vietnam

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development have introduced a pilot traceability programme to track the origin and carbon footprint of each dragon fruit planted in the southern province of Bình Thuận, Vietnam. The system was presented at the ‘Digital Transformation towards Green Agriculture and Sustainable Development’ conference co-hosted by the ministry and UNDP, in August 2023.

Bình Thuận has become the ‘capital of dragon fruit’ in Vietnam, with an average output of 600,000 tonnes/year. The fruit is grown by small households, which sell 80% of their yield to export-oriented traders, 8% to cooperatives, and 12% to domestic-oriented traders.

Vietnam exports the fruit to many countries, with China, India, the US, Thailand, the Netherlands, and Japan being the biggest importers. The Chinese market accounts for 60-70% of Vietnam's total dragon fruit export turnover. In 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development aim to export more than $1 billion worth of fruit.

The pilot traceability programme is running in 300 farms, as part of a 3-year roadmap for ‘greening’ dragon fruit. This, in turn, forms part of a global project for accelerating private sector engagement in climate-resilient and low-emission investment opportunities in Vietnam. The project is financially supported by the governments of Germany, Spain and the European Union.

In addition to identifying information, the QR codes on the dragon fruit products participating in the pilot also include data on the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the environment during the entire production and distribution process.