Standardising fruit quality can open up new markets for Vietnam: Insiders

There is plenty of room for Vietnamese fruit and vegetables to enter more stringent markets such as the US, Australia, and the EU by focusing on high-quality fruit, accurate origin certificates, and food safety standards, according to insiders.

The Republic of Korea has for over a month now welcomed Vietnamese pomelo, while China has opened its door to Vietnamese fresh coconuts and frozen durian. At the same time, negotiations on technical requirements for Vietnamese passion fruit to enter the US market have been completed.

This has helped expand markets, diversify export products, and reduce pressure on harvest seasons, creating greater added value for Vietnamese fruit.

Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs of the US Alexis M. Taylor said that agricultural products of the two countries can supplement each other. Currently, eight types of Vietnamese fruit have been officially exported to the US, including dragon fruit, mango, grapefruit, rambutan, longan, lychee, star apple, and coconut. Meanwhile, Vietnam has opened its door to US fruit such as orange, grape, cherry, pear, peach, nectarine, blueberry, and apple.

Procedures allowing Vietnamese durian to be sold in China have also been completed.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), Vietnamese fruit are now present in 60 markets around the world.

Phan Thi Thu Hien, Director of the MARD’s Post-Import Plant Quarantine Centre No. 2, said that each import market has its own regulations from food safety and hygiene to food quarantine for export shipments.

She clarified two groups of requirements from importing countries, including basic and high requirements.

Taylor said that there is plenty of room for Vietnamese fruit in the US market and advised Vietnamese exporters to choose a certain region, a certain state, or a certain community to enter. However, meeting all the needs of American market consumers is a huge challenge.

For other markets like China, their acceptance of Vietnamese frozen durian is expected to open opportunities for this product to expand markets.

Dang Phuc Nguyen, General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetables Association (Vinafruit), said that the export of frozen durian products will help limit  the backlog of goods during the main harvest season. This is a channel to help regulate output to stabilise prices, increasing income for farmers and businesses. At the same time, it is also the starting point for the growth of processed durian products and durian preservation technology, a springboard to exploit other markets outside of China, he said.

Along with China and the US, the European market is also showing increasingly interest in tropical fruits with health benefits and fresh flavours.

According to the Vietnamese Trade Office in Belgium and Europe, tropical fruits such as pomegranate, dragon fruit, and rambutan are considered specialties in this market. This is an opportunity for cooperatives and Vietnamese fruit exporting enterprises to conquer large markets such as Europe, said a representative from the office.

However, the official advised exporters to ensure that the fruits delivered to consumers are guaranteed to be fresh, delicious, and of high quality, meeting food safety and sustainability requirements.

Experts said authorities should soon develop national standards for processed products to serve as a basis for assessing product quality and standardisation before entering new global markets./.