China warns about Vietnamese durian and jackfruit, Plant Protection Department issues recommendations

In 2024, although Vietnam's fruit and vegetable exports set new records, the fact that markets continuously issued warnings and increased inspections of imported goods shows that, in order to go the long way, production according to the right standards and quality is an inevitable requirement.

New record of Vietnamese fruits and vegetables

According to the report of the Import-Export Department ( Ministry of Industry and Trade ), in 2024, Vietnam's fruit and vegetable export activities will achieve many successes in terms of market, output and export value. It is estimated that Vietnam's fruit and vegetable export turnover will reach a record high, reaching about 7.12 billion USD in 2024, an increase of 27.1% compared to 2023. Thus, compared to the figure of 1.84 billion USD in 2015, Vietnam's fruit and vegetable industry has made a "leapfrog" development in the past decade.

In 2024, global demand for fruits and vegetables will increase, despite the impacts of high inflation and prolonged geopolitical tensions. Vietnam, with a stable supply of fruits and vegetables, increasingly improved quality and taking advantage of the opportunities brought by FTAs, has successfully exploited many markets with large import capacity such as the US, Europe, China, UK, Japan, etc.

According to information from https://www.statista.com, global fruit imports are estimated to reach 118.4 billion USD in 2024, with an expected annual growth rate of 2.2% during the period 2024 - 2029. Per capita consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables is expected to reach 72.3 kg/person/year in 2024, and is expected to increase by 4.3% in 2025.

Checking the quality of exported durian in Dak Lak. Photo: TA

At the end of December 2024, the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association also had to issue an urgent notice, expressing strong opposition to the situation where some subjects took advantage of fraud and illegally copied the growing area codes and packing facility codes for exported durian.

In the US, according to statistics from the US International Trade Commission (USITC), in the first 10 months of 2024, the US imported over 46.67 billion USD worth of vegetables, flowers, tubers, fruits and processed products, up 6.8% over the same period in 2023. Of which, the import turnover of vegetables, flowers, tubers, fruits and processed products from Vietnam reached 479 million USD.

The EU is a large and stable consumer market for most fresh fruits and vegetables. The need for year-round supply and a wide range of products helps maintain the EU's dependence on non-EU suppliers. According to Eurostat, in the first 10 months of 2024, the EU imported approximately EUR 28.9 billion worth of vegetables, flowers, tubers, fruits and processed products from non-EU markets, of which the EU imported EUR 206 million (equivalent to USD 214 million) of vegetables, flowers, tubers, fruits and processed products from Vietnam, an increase of 3.5% compared to the same period in 2023.

For the Chinese market, in the first 10 months of 2024, China reduced imports of vegetables, flowers, tubers, fruits and processed products from the world but sharply increased imports from Vietnam, an increase of 27.8% compared to the first 10 months of 2023, reaching approximately 3.83 billion USD, with a market share of 18.49%.

From the above results, the Vietnamese fruit and vegetable industry has every reason to expect that in 2025, fruit and vegetable exports will continue to record a new record high, with an expected growth rate of over 20% compared to 2024. The plan for the fruit and vegetable industry in 2025 is based on the increasing demand for this product in the world. In addition, many types of Vietnamese fruits have affirmed their position in export markets, and some key fruit varieties are expected to be licensed for export to major markets.

Concerns grow warning

Strengthening management of growing area codes

To strengthen the quality management of fresh fruit export shipments and ensure compliance with regulations on plant quarantine and food safety, avoiding the risk of being subject to control measures from importing countries, or even having the industry suspended, the Plant Protection Department requests the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of provinces and cities, regional Plant Quarantine Sub-Departments, relevant organizations and individuals to strengthen the management of growing area codes and export packaging facility codes.

In particular, continue to allocate resources to inspect and monitor growing areas and export packaging facilities. It is necessary to develop a plan and organize the implementation of a monitoring program on food safety and quality standards of exported fruits in growing areas and packaging facilities that have been granted codes.

However, fruit and vegetable exports are also facing many difficulties as countries increase inspections of imported goods. For example, recently, the Vietnam SPS Office (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) sent a notice to the Plant Protection Department and the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association regarding the amendment of Regulation (EU) 2019/1793 on temporarily strengthening official controls and emergency measures to manage the import of certain goods from some third countries into the EU. Accordingly, for Vietnamese durian, the EU temporarily increased the frequency of border inspections from 10% to 20%. For dragon fruit, chili and okra, the EU kept the same frequency of border inspections.

Of which, the inspection frequency for dragon fruit is 30%, chili and okra are 50%. These three products when imported into the EU market must be accompanied by pesticide residue analysis results. To stabilize product output, along with ensuring quality standards, Vietnamese fruit and vegetable enterprises need to promote processing, focusing on deep processing, both increasing added value and limiting seasonal risks such as fresh export.

Currently, the output of processed fresh fruits and vegetables is still low while the annual harvest is very large. This is considered one of the main reasons why Vietnam's fruit and vegetable export turnover still accounts for a low proportion in markets and market areas with high demand for processed products such as Europe, the US, Korea, etc.

The Plant Protection Department (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) said that it has just received a warning about a shipment of fresh fruit (durian and jackfruit) exported from Vietnam that did not comply with the requirements on plant quarantine and food safety of importing countries, especially the General Administration of Customs of China.

"If this situation is not well controlled, it will seriously affect the reputation and brand of Vietnamese agricultural products in the international market, with a high risk of losing market share," Mr. Nguyen Quang Hieu, Deputy Director of the Plant Protection Department, emphasized.

In order to limit cases of forgery and fraud in the use of export codes, the Plant Protection Department recommends that the owners of the growing area codes and packaging facilities, in cases where they do not directly export but allow other organizations and individuals to export products from the growing area and package at their packaging facilities, must proactively send written notices to the provincial-level specialized agencies.

From January 20, regional Plant Quarantine Sub-Departments will use the consolidated reports of provincial-level professional agencies as the basis for carrying out quarantine procedures for fresh fruit shipments not directly exported by the owner of the growing area code and the packaging facility.

Source: https://danviet.vn/trung-quoc-canh-bao-voi-sau-rieng-mit-viet-nam-cuc-bao-ve-thuc-vat-dua-ra-khuyen-cao-2025011218272503.htm