China spends billions of dollars buying more than 4 billion coconuts/year, how much does it buy from Vietnam?

China is the world's largest consumer of coconuts, importing over 4.5 million tons in 2023, which is more than double the country's domestic production. The main sources of import include Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam, with Vietnam's share slightly decreasing from 22.86% to 22.57% due to a temporary decrease in imports despite a new agreement that grants official export licenses for fresh coconuts from Vietnam to China starting August 19, 2024. This agreement aims to provide Vietnamese coconut producers with access to China's large market, and Vietnamese growers are encouraged to meet China's strict standards for plant quarantine regulations, food safety, and hygiene.

According to the Chinese Customs, the country's demand for coconuts is very large. Every year, China consumes more than 4 billion coconuts, of which about 2.6 billion are fresh coconuts, the rest are used for processing. The demand is large but China's production capacity is not enough to meet it, so every year the country has to import a large amount of coconuts of all kinds. According to data from the Chinese Customs, in the period 2019 - 2023, the country's coconut imports increased by an average of 22.71%/year. During this period, China's coconut imports remained stable and grew gradually, especially in 2022 and 2023, the amount of imported coconuts continuously reached record highs, respectively 1.095 million tons and 1.22 million tons. However, China's coconut imports in the first months of 2024 decreased. Accordingly, in the first 7 months of 2024, the country's coconut imports reached 492,320 tons, worth 249.95 million USD, down 29.7% in volume and 33.2% in value ...