Fresh durian exports are likely to recover strongly in the main crop season from August - Photo: VGP/Do Huong
At the regular press conference of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment on July 3, Mr. Do Hong Khanh, Chief of Office of the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection, said that Vietnam's durian export market in the first months of 2025 has encountered many difficulties as many importing countries have increased food safety controls. The durian shipments were warned mainly due to pesticide residues exceeding the permitted threshold, heavy metals such as cadmium and some banned chemicals were detected.
Minister of Agriculture and Environment Do Duc Duy led a delegation to Beijing to work directly with the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) in May 2025. As a result, 829 growing area codes and 131 packing facilities were restored. It is expected that from July 12 to 17, 2025, GACC experts will visit Vietnam to conduct a field inspection of the durian production, packaging and export chain.
Notably, in order to strengthen the management of growing area codes and packaging facilities, the Department of Crop Production and the Plant Protection Department have digitized all data on growing area codes and packaging facilities, and operated a nationwide traceability system. As of June, 1,396 growing area codes and 188 durian packaging facilities have been granted codes, qualified to export to China.
Regarding the development of the Quality Control Process at durian packaging facilities for export, the Ministry is currently seeking the second opinion of relevant parties on the draft. Fresh durian exports have recovered strongly since August. With China approving nearly 1,000 more codes for growing areas and packaging facilities, along with positive signals from a number of import markets, the Plant Protection Department forecasts that fresh durian exports are likely to recover from the third quarter, especially during the main crop season from August to October.
"However, the recovery rate still depends largely on whether businesses and farmers can maintain food safety conditions as committed. If violations continue to recur, the export risk for this industry is still very high," Mr. Khanh emphasized.
Meet strict requirements on heavy metal residues
The export potential of frozen durian is expected to continue to be a bright spot in the coming time thanks to its stability and long-term preservation ability. Currently, many businesses are ready to invest in modern processing lines and cold storage, meeting the standards of China and potential markets such as Korea, Japan, EU...
Faced with strict requirements on heavy metal residues, the ministry has asked laboratories to increase their cadmium and O-gold testing capacity. To date, there are 24 cadmium testing laboratories and 14 O-gold testing laboratories approved by GACC.
At the same time, the Ministry also directed the establishment of a cadmium distribution map in key growing areas, and the collection of soil, water and fertilizer samples in the Central Highlands, Southeast and Mekong Delta to assess the risk of contamination. New farming processes have been issued, encouraging the use of organic and biological fertilizers to replace fertilizers with high cadmium content. Monitoring will be carried out regularly from production to packaging to minimize recurrence.
Along with technical solutions, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has completed the draft Circular guiding the issuance and management of growing area codes (MSVT) and packaging facilities (CSĐG) in a strict, transparent and practical manner. The draft is currently seeking comments from ministries, localities and organizations participating in the export chain, and is expected to be issued in the next few days.
The Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection has also completed the digitization of all data on MSVT and CSĐG, operating a nationwide traceability system. As of June 2025, the country has 1,396 growing area codes and 188 packaging facilities that have been granted codes, qualified to officially export to China.
The Ministry is currently seeking second opinions on the draft Quality Control Process at the CSDG serving durian export. This is considered one of the key steps to ensure that the product meets standards at the final stage before going to the international market.
Do Huong
Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/xuat-khau-sau-rieng-dong-lanh-tang-3-lan-10225070316093047.htm
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