As Viet Nam's banana exports mature, digital farm management comes into focus
08/07/2026 2Viet Nam's banana industry has no shortage of operational expertise, but much of it still resides with individual managers rather than farm-wide systems, says Lan Luu of BanaNext.
"Operational discipline certainly exists here, but it is currently confined to the minds of a few experienced operators rather than being embedded in a system the entire industry can rely on."
According to Luu, as Viet Nam's banana exports continue expanding into premium markets such as Japan, South Korea and China, the industry's next phase of growth will depend less on increasing acreage and more on standardizing production knowledge across farms.
That belief became the foundation for BanaNext, a digital farm management platform built exclusively for export-oriented Cavendish banana producers. "Rather than creating a generic agricultural software solution, we focus on translating proven production practices into a system that growers can use consistently, regardless of scale," she explains.
The idea emerged after Luu's co-founder, an experienced banana operations manager, sought a simple internal tool to record field activities at Ngoc Xuong Farm in Tay Ninh. Although the 23-hectare farm already followed highly structured cultivation programmes, daily operations still relied on handwritten notes, spreadsheets and messaging applications. Field supervisors travelled across the farm collecting updates before management manually reconciled scattered information into reports.
"What impressed us wasn't that the farm lacked processes. The operational discipline was already there. The problem was that it lived in spreadsheets and in the experience of a few key people," she says. When the founders returned several years later, they found the same production system supporting successful exports to Japan, South Korea and China. "Having proven that the operating model could scale, we decided to digitize it."
"Our software was designed specifically around the production cycle of export Cavendish bananas. It follows each lot through nine growth stages while managing fertilization schedules, field operations, labour allocation, inventory, traceability and production records. "The objective isn't to replace existing expertise, but to capture it in a repeatable operational framework that farms can rely on as they expand," Luu says.
One area receiving particular attention is harvest forecasting: "BanaNext is developing forecasting capabilities that estimate production nine to fifteen weeks in advance, roughly the lead time exporters require to negotiate contracts, book containers and plan shipments. A forecast that only tells you what you'll harvest in two weeks doesn't really help when export programmes are planned months ahead. The commercial decisions happen much earlier," Luu highlights.
While the software remains in its pilot phase at Ngoc Xuong Farm, where sixteen core functions already support daily production management, the software has also been commissioned by large-scale exporter Phu Lam Agriculture to develop a management system for its expanding operations. "Around 50–60% of Phu Lam's bananas are exported to South Korea under the Del Monte brand, with the remainder supplied to Japan, while the company is also pursuing direct supply opportunities with AEON Group's TOPVALU private label."
According to Luu, the partnership reflects a growing focus on operational standardization, traceability and production planning as Viet Nam's export industry scales. Looking ahead, she believes Viet Nam's long-term competitiveness against established exporters such as Ecuador and the Philippines will depend on building systems that consistently deliver quality rather than relying on experienced individuals to hold operations together.
"The farms that keep their buyers won't necessarily be the biggest. They'll be the ones that can consistently demonstrate product quality, traceability and operational discipline, regardless of who is managing the farm."
Source: Freshplaza