HCM City (VNA) – Experts and businesses discussedways to maintain and expand EU markets for Vietnam’s fruit and vegetableexports at a seminar in Ho Chi Minh City on October 9.

The EU is a potential market for fresh fruit andvegetables of Vietnam, but the country could face a decline in export revenueand stricter supervision from the EU if it fails to meet food safetyrequirements.

Le Thanh Hoa, Deputy Director of the VietnamSanitary and Phytosanitary Notification Authority and Enquiry Point under theMinistry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said in 2013, the EU suspendedimports of fresh fruit and vegetables from Vietnam after detecting plantquarantine problems. 

Although improvements by Vietnamese ministries,sectors and businesses have helped fresh fruit and vegetables be re-exported tothe EU, shipments to this market have yet to live up to expectations, he noted.

In the first nine months of 2017, the countryrecorded more than 2.6 billion USD in total exports and 1.1 billion USD inimports of fruit and vegetables, respective rises of 44.2 percent and 78.2percent year on year.

Asian markets remained the top destination forthe Vietnamese products, followed by the EU, which has imported 680,000 tonnesof vegetables, fruit, flowers and other agricultural products since thebeginning of 2017.

♉[Vegetable, fruit exports estimated at 2.64 billion USD]

Despite good export growth, Vietnamesebusinesses may face the barriers of safeguard measures, plant protection and quarantinelaws, and food safety standards.

Ruggero Malossi, a specialist of the EuropeanTrade Policy and Investment Support Project (EU-MUTRAP), said the EU has highrequirements for food safety, and that’s why the production of freshagricultural products must comply with legal regulations.

Among the main requirements, exporters mustapply a concrete quality control process during processing and packaging. Theymust also ensure their products’ traceability.

Vietnam uses the hazard analysis and criticalcontrol points (HACCP) approach to ensure quality and safety in the fisherysector. It should also apply HACCP on the production, harvesting and processingof fresh fruit and vegetables, Malossi said.

Meanwhile, Dam Quoc Tru, a Vietnamese specialistof EU-MUTRAP, asked ministries and sectors to build an appropriate strategy foreach market and provide convenient transportation services for Vietnam’s strongproducts like dragon fruit, longan, rambutan, grapefruit and mango. They shouldalso involve the private sector in inspection and quarantine.

Meanwhile, businesses have to developconcentrated areas for producing key export products, a prerequisite forsustainable agricultural production. It is also necessary for them to stay updatedon quarantine, preservation and processing technologies to meet the growingrequirements of importers, Tru added.-VNA