Vietnamese grapefruit entering Australia is an important premise to expand export markets.

Vietnamese grapefruit has been officially exported to Australia – a market that is considered to have the strictest quarantine procedures in the world. This is an important premise, opening up opportunities to increase fruit and vegetable turnover, affirming the Vietnamese fruit brand.

On the morning of October 9, the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection ( Ministry of Agriculture and Environment ) coordinated with the Australian Embassy in Vietnam to organize the "Announcement Ceremony of exporting Vietnamese grapefruit to Australia and Australian blueberries to Vietnam". Reporters of Tin Tuc and Dan Toc newspaper had an interview with Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Hoang Trung about this content.

Dear Deputy Minister, can you share the process of officially exporting Vietnamese grapefruit to Australia?

Following the general policy of the Government and the Ministry, especially for agricultural products, we have made efforts to coordinate with ministries and branches to expand and diversify the market and also diversify products for each specific market.

With such a policy, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has recently directed specialized Departments, especially the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection, to make great efforts in completing the dossier to open the export of fresh grapefruit from Vietnam to the Australian market. This is the 8th dossier and also the 8th fruit of Vietnam allowed to be exported to Australia.

Since the beginning of 2022, we have completed the documents to send to your side. After three years, the two technical agencies of Vietnam and Australia have made great efforts to negotiate and handle technical barriers, especially measures related to growing areas, irradiation treatment, plant quarantine procedures and food hygiene and safety to meet Australia's requirements. The Australian technical team has also come to Vietnam for direct inspection. All processes and procedures, including the announcement to collect opinions from relevant parties, have been completed. At the same time, the export plan and the Australian side's permission document have also been drafted. Today, the official signing ceremony took place, marking the fact that fresh grapefruit from Vietnam will be exported to the Australian market this October.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Hoang Trung spoke to the press on the morning of October 9:

What is the significance of bringing fresh Vietnamese grapefruit to Australia, Deputy Minister?

It must be affirmed that exporting grapefruit to Australia is a very important milestone. This demonstrates the technical capacity and production level of Vietnamese farmers who have created high quality products, fully meeting the regulations on food safety and plant quarantine.

We know that Australia is one of the countries with the world's most stringent technical control, quarantine and safety standards systems. Therefore, the fact that Vietnam has passed all technical requirements to be allowed to export grapefruit to Australia is a very meaningful event, affirming the good cooperation between the two sides.

At the same time, this is also a testament to Vietnam's technical capacity, from processing, supervision to the quality of agricultural products that can compete with other countries in this demanding market. This is the 6th fruit, and is also an important premise for us to continue expanding the export of other potential fruits to Australia and other countries.

Currently, the Ministry is continuing to direct the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection to negotiate and handle technical barriers and coordinate with other agencies and ministries to expand markets, increase export turnover, and contribute to the overall growth of Vietnam's agricultural sector.

From this initial success, what recommendations does the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment have for businesses and localities to develop a more sustainable market?

Opening the grapefruit export market to Australia is a great opportunity. However, we have some recommendations as follows: First, businesses need to grasp current consumption trends. Australians are tending to diversify their products, especially fresh fruit.

Along with that, Australia's grapefruit output is currently only 8,000-9,000 tons/year, while the consumption demand is much higher. This is an opportunity for Vietnamese grapefruit to supplement this market, especially when Vietnamese grapefruit can be supplied year-round. Currently, Vietnam has about 110,000 hectares of grapefruit, with an output of about 1.2 million tons/year. Vietnam can fully meet the needs of large markets, including Australia. In particular, Vietnamese grapefruit has high quality and variety such as Dien grapefruit, Da Xanh grapefruit, Phuc Trach grapefruit, Doan Hung grapefruit... suitable for the tastes of Australian consumers.

In addition, the quarantine, irradiation, treatment and procedures have been implemented more systematically and conveniently. There are now more domestic processing facilities, making exports faster and more convenient. In particular, Vietnamese and Australian businesses have had a long-term cooperative relationship, so opening more grapefruit products will be more convenient, contributing to increasing turnover and income for domestic growers.

With the positive signals in recent times, how does the Deputy Minister evaluate the contribution of fruits and vegetables to the overall growth of the agricultural sector?

According to the Government's target, agricultural exports must reach about 65 billion USD or more in 2025. From the beginning of the year, the Ministry has directed localities to closely follow the plan, both ensuring supply for 100 million domestic people and promoting exports.

In September, agricultural export turnover reached over 6.2 billion USD. With this momentum, from now until the end of the year, the possibility of Vietnam's total agricultural, forestry and fishery export turnover reaching and exceeding 65 billion USD is completely feasible, even exceeding the target if there are no major changes in weather or climate.

Besides, we are still actively negotiating to expand into new markets, in which Australia is just one part of the overall strategy to diversify agricultural markets.

With abundant output, high quality and efforts to expand market share, I believe that the agricultural export target for 2025 will not only be achieved but can also exceed the set plan.

Thank you, Deputy Minister!

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/kinh-te/buoi-viet-vao-australia-la-tien-de-quan-trong-de-mo-rong-thi-truong-xuat-khau-20251009142500658.htm