Pilot Technology Assessment of the Vietnamese Fruit Processing Industry

Pilot Technology Assessment of the Vietnamese Fruit Processing Industry

The Vietnamese agro-processing industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors of  Vietnam’s economy, largely due to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s “Industrial Development Strategy through 2025, vision toward 2035.” Despite its promise, there has been a dearth of analyses regarding the status of Vietnam’s food processing industry, particularly in light of growing global trends and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), and the need for sustainable practices. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) hired Tambourine Innovation Ventures to conduct a pilot technology assessment for the Vietnamese fruit processing industry to address this.

The Technology Assessment addressed multiple components of Vietnam’s processing industry, including the historical and contemporary landscapes of Vietnamese food commodities and the industry’s vast spectrum of processing methods. TIV’s experts identified opportunities for Vietnam’s agribusiness to reduce production costs and increase the exports of value-added processed products. This included opportunities in mango and pineapple exports through modernized processing technology (high-pressure or pulsed electric field processing). These methods were promoted to generate more significant quantities of processed mango and pineapple products with a longer shelf-life, thus retaining their value and making them easier to export. Furthermore, our experts conducted an extensive trade issues analysis, suggesting Vietnam pursue countries with zero or very low tariffs, examining the trade flows of the Vietnamese mango and pineapple value chain, and providing insightful data on its export capacities of mango and pineapple processed goods.

Among other contributions of the study, TIV investigated areas of untapped potential. In particular, the analysis featured an extensive discussion on the apparent failure of Vietnam to exploit international markets, in addition to the industry’s neglect of commodity expansion and diversification opportunities. Perhaps most importantly, TIV offered insights into how Vietnam could prepare for the impending 4IR. Namely, in a thorough investigation of multiple case studies of Industry 4.0 technologies, TIV provided an innovative roadmap towards navigating a future in which technological advancements – such as Big Data, the Internet of Things (IoT), Drones, and AI – will be of greater importance.