Vietnam’s agriculture sector plays a critical role to the national economy. It contributes nearly 15% of GDP, employs about 25% of the workforce, and provides income for more than 60% of the rural population. The agricultural sector has demonstrated steady growth and strong export performance in recent years. Vietnam is among world’s major exporters of rice, coffee, pepper, cashew nuts, seafood, and tropical fruits. Agricultural products are thus assuming an increasingly important role in the global food supply.
High-tech bell pepper farm using IPM & drip irrigation system in Don Duong, Lam Dong
As Vietnam advances toward a net-zero emission commitment by 2025, agriculture plays a critical role in this transition. In response, the government prioritizes agricultural modernization and introduces various policies to encourage investment in high-tech agriculture. The horticulture sector has increasingly harnessed agricultural technologies to enhance competitiveness and sustainability, focusing on production efficiency, cost reduction, and protecting natural resources.
A study was commissioned by the Agricultural Department of the Netherlands Embassy in Vietnam, providing insights into agritech adoption landscape in Vietnam’s horticulture sector, and the market opportunities for the Dutch businesses.
Vietnam's Horticulture Sector Overview
Horticulture cultivation currently spans approximately 2.4 million hectares, representing roughly 17% of Vietnam’s total cultivated area. Fruit trees and vegetables hold 1.3 million hectares and 1.15 million hectares, respectively, while flowers and ornamentals represent around 45,000 hectares. Traditional open fields remain dominant, with around 94% of total vegetables cultivated area as well as for flowers.
Nearly 95% of total vegetable production is served for local consumption. Domestic market also serves as the primary engine for the flower, absorbing about 90% of total national output
The horticulture sector, comprising of fruits, vegetables, and flowers, has experienced a particular growth, achieving an estimated US$8.6 billion in export value in 2025, marking a substantial 20% year-on-year growth. Fruit exports remain the primary growth driver, registering alone US$7 billion with a target of US$10 billion by 2026, underscoring a strategic pivot toward premium, high-value crops and value-added products. Vegetables and flowers contribute more modestly, with export values of US$400 million and US$70 million, respectively.
Agritech Adoption Landscape
The adoption of High-Tech Agriculture (HTA) is actively reshaping Vietnam’s horticulture sector by enhancing product quality and ensuring export compliance. An estimated 178,000 hectares of horticulture area is currently applied HTA, comprising 95,000 ha of fruit trees, 72,000 hectares of vegetables, and 11,000 hectares of flowers.
Adoption levels vary significantly across crop types. Flower and ornamental plants demonstrate the highest level of agritech adoption, with HTA applications covering 24% of its total cultivated area. High-tech application remains relatively low overall at 8% in fruit trees and 7% in vegetables, highlighting the potential of agritech adoption and penetration in Vietnamese horticulture sector.
A major contributor to HTA adoption has been the rapid expansion of controlled environment agriculture (CEA) including greenhouses, net houses, and membrane houses. As of mid-2025, the total CEA area reached 112,000 ha, a significant 27-fold increase from 4,100 ha in 2016. CEA infrastructure is primarily used for vegetable and seedling production. Vegetable cultivation accounts for 64% of total CEA area, equivalent to 72K ha, while high-quality seedling production represents 27%, or 30,000 ha. Today CEA serves as a pivotal driver in restructuring and modernizing the agricultural sector, promoting sustainability and enhancing productivity.
Graph 1: Vietnam's total CEA by region, 2025
Agritech Adoption Analysis
Agritech is increasingly adopted across the Vietnamese horticulture value chain, from nursery, primary production, post-harvest, and processing phases. Key stakeholders driving for agritech adoption comprise seed nurseries, horticulture farmers, and processors. However, adoption level varies by horticulture crop types, farm size, and cultivation regions.
Graph 2: Key stakeholders for Agritech Adoption within the horticulture value chain
The Central Highlands with Lam Dong maintains the highest concentration of agritech adoption in Vietnam and remains Vietnam’s leading hub for high-tech horticulture. Export-oriented and high-value horticulture crops are the primary key drivers of agritech adoption, including bell and jalapeño peppers, tomatoes, melons as well as the cut-flower segment, particularly orchids.
Agritech adoption patterns in Vietnam are highly differentiated by farm size, with investment intensity largely shaped by capital resources, market access, and the presence of stable off-take agreements. Large commercial farms typically demonstrate a stronger willingness and capacity to invest in integrated high-tech production systems, including greenhouse infrastructure, climate-control equipment, smart fertigation, IoT monitoring, and often drawing on imported technology packages.
Overall, agritech adoption remains at an early stage among local fruit and vegetable production. Technologies are rarely and partially used throughout the production stage. In contrast, cut flowers have demonstrated a high adoption level.
Key Drivers for Adoption
Agritech adoption in horticulture is being propelled by several drivers. Externally, stricter export compliance from high-value markets and rising demand for processed products have emerged as among the most important drivers. Exporters are under growing pressure to modernize their production systems to comply with rigorous food safety regulations, strict residue control, robust traceability, and other complex emerging standards like EU Deforestration Regulation.
This pressure is closely mirrored by a profound shift within the domestic market. Driven by Vietnam’s expanding middle class, local consumers are increasingly prioritizing premium, traceable, and safe organic produce. Moreover, intensifying climate vulnerabilities, resource scarcity, and a shrinking rural labor pool have made agritech like precision farming, CEA, and labor-saving technologies imperatives to stabilize production yields and ensure supply chain continuity. In parallel, robust government policies, including corporate tax exemptions, land-rent reductions, etc., are helping to catalyze a wave of private-sector investment in agricultural modernization.
In vitro tissue culture lab in Cu Chi High-tech Agricultural Lab in Ho Chi Minh City
Market Opportunities
Agritech adoption is primarily driven by rising export demand & tightening international standards, domestic market growth, and mounting climate pressure. This evolution opens some opportunities for Dutch businesses across the horticulture value chain, notably around:
• Seeds & Breeding: developing tropically optimized vegetable varieties, premium cut-flowers for growing middle class, and climate-resilient varieties.
• AI & Autonomous Growing: building awareness & identifying early adopters, then implementing IoT-based climate monitoring & decision-support tools and gradually upgrading to fully autonomous systems.
• Biological crop protection: scaling the use of beneficial insects, natural predators, and targeted treatments to match export requirements.
• Quality Control at Harvesting: portable MRL testing equipment, AI-based imaging & grading systems for packhouses, and compliance infrastructure for export-oriented aggregators.
• Supply Chain & Traceability: digital tools for certification management, blockchain-based traceability, and satellite-based land-use monitoring.
The identified opportunities serve as a foundation for informed decision-making and strategic planning, ensuring that efforts align with the local horticultural context alongside potential avenues for Dutch-Vietnamese collaboration.
For those interested in accessing the full report, a soft copy is available upon request. Please contact us at han-lvvn@minbuza.nl.