Workers wrap up and label durians. Vietnamese durians have made a name for themselves as a great-tasting fruit in many countries, but that's only the story's beginning. (Photo: baomoi.com) Dang Phuc Nguyen, General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruits andVegetables Association, revealed that China, the largest importer of freshVietnamese durians, has allowed the fruits to be imported via official channelsfrom July 12.
However, these opportunities come with obstacles asthe Chinese General Administration of Customs (CGAC) requires that Vietnameseexporting firms and growing areas register with the Vietnamese Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development (MARD), and the registrations must besent to CGAC for approval before the fruit can enter the country.
"Durians from unregistered firms or unregistered growingareas will not be allowed to cross the border," he said.
He also notes that registered growing areas must have qualitymanagement and a traceability system, meet Good Agricultural Practice standardsand strictly comply with sanitary requirements to be eligible for approval.
Regarding other demanding markets such as the US and the EU, thegeneral secretary said those markets insisted on Global GAP compliance anda strict chemical residue threshold for Vietnamese durian. Durians who do nottick all the boxes risk being rejected.
Ta Duc Minh, Trade Counselor of the Vietnam Trade Office in Japan,underscored Japan as a market with high standards and stringent fruitregulations.
As Vietnamese durian easily entered the country between 2017and 2020, some Vietnamese exporters took the market for granted and becameless strict on quality control.
In 2021, after several batches with excessive pesticideresidues were detected, Japan increased the frequency of inspection ofVietnamese durian, making it more difficult for the fruit to reachJapanese consumers.
"Three cases of Vietnamese durian violating safetystandards were detected in 2021, of which one was related to freshdurians and two to frozen," he said.
The trade counsellor recommends firms keep a close watch onquality control and strictly comply with safety standards to ensure nopesticide residues in durians. These measures will allow thefruit to gain ground in the Japanese market.
Nguyen Phu Hoa, Deputy Consul General in Sydney (Australia),underscored Australia as a high-end durian market. Accordingly,for Vietnamese firms, it would make more sense to compete on quality ratherthan price.
He also calls for a national trademark for Vietnamese duriansto add more value to the fruit and ensure the sustainability of itsexports.
"The Vietnam Trade Office in Australia will supportVietnamese firms in media promotion to strengthen their presence in thecountry. Australia is a potential durian importer," headded.
Ngo Tuong Vy, General Director of the Chanh Thu Import-ExportJSC., asserted that it is tough to gain entry into foreign markets and tougherto cause changes to consumer eating habits in favour of Vietnamesedurians.
She also remarks that China's low standards onfruit were a thing of the past. The country has set the barrelatively high, and Vietnamese firms have no choice but to adapt to theshifting trade pattern.
Luu Huy, Director of the Viet Thai Agricultural Produce LTD, saidChina has become stricter about its imported fruit.
He suggests four rules Vietnamese firms should follow to boostdurian trade with the country.
First, Vietnamese durians must meet all the standards set out byChinese trade authorities. Second, the fruit must reach a maturity rate of80% upon harvesting.
Third, the fruits must be almost identical weight-wiseand quality-wise. Fourth, logistics and refrigeration systems must come upto scratch.
At the conference on China's higher bar on Vietnamese fruitsrecently, Deputy Director of the MARD's Agro Processing and Market DevelopmentAuthority Le Thanh Hoa said that many markets were tightening up onVietnamese fruits with stricter food safety and phytosanitation standards.
He said Vietnamese fruit must adapt to their newrules and regulations or otherwise commercially lose ground in thosemarkets.
Vu Duc Con, Deputy Director of Dak Lak province's Departmentof Agriculture and Rural Development, revealed that the department had granted77 agricultural codes to a total growing area of 1,600 ha so far.
Regarding durians, the department had established 24 packagingfacilities and 38 growing areas and had sent the list to CGAC forapproval. /.
VNA
