Nguyen Huu Dat, Director of thePost-Import Plant Quarantine Centre, said on May 15 that 2015 will bethe first year Vietnamese lychees will be freighted to US and Australianmarkets where there are strict quarantine regulations on fruits.
Six approval codes were given to lychee growing areas in northern BacGiang province and two to neighbouring Hai Duong province whereproduction has satisfied safety standards, he said.
Technical solutions from sector authorities have finally paid off,Deputy Head of the Plant Protection Department Hoang Trung said,regarding the result as a breakthrough for the domestic lychee industrywhich will pave the way for the Vietnamese tropical fruit to enter otherforeign markets.
This year’s lychee crops willbe transported to South Vietnam for irradiation treatment until a newcentre for irradiation becomes operational by the end of this year,before the 2016 crop begins.
Vietnam has alsoimported Cells Alive System, a Japanese quarantine technology, topreserve food for exports to Japan. The country is currently negotiatingpermission to apply this technology to fresh lychee and longan exportsto the US and Australia.-VNA