Vietnam will be exporting litchi and longan to the United States and ispreparing to export more fruit when it joins the ASEAN EconomicCommunity (AEC) next year.
Nguyen Xuan Hong, Deputy Head of thePlant Protection Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment, tells Vietnam News about the challenges for the fruitmarket at home and aboard.
*What challenges will the domestic fruit market face after Vietnam joins the AEC?
Vietnamhas been importing 400,000 tonnes of fruit from other countries andexporting 1.3 million tonnes of fruit to other countries every year.This means our annual exports are often three times higher than ourannual imports.
The domestic fruit market includes Vietnamese fruits and some imported fruits.
Meanwhile,Vietnam has advantages in the export of certain kinds of fruit such asdragon fruit, litchi and mango, and many countries have a high demandfor such fruits from Vietnam.
The issue here is how Vietnamshould organise production to meet the demand of importing countrieswhich follow strict standards on quality, food hygiene and safety. Thisleads to an increase in the consumption of farmers, as well as in exportvolume.
Regarding competition pressure on local fruits fromimported fruits after the country opens the doors under the AECcommitments, I think there is no pressure because imported and localfruits have advantages that vary from each other.
Vietnam hasexported tropical fruits to temperate countries which, in turn, haveexported their fruits to Vietnam. That is normal. Vietnam permits othercountries to export their fruits to us, and other countries permitVietnam to export its fruits to them.
*Vietnam has a variety ofsucculent fruits but few of them could enter strict markets abroad. Whatare the barriers to Vietnam's fruits in these markets?
One ofthe barriers is plant quarantine. Vietnam must pay the high cost ofplant quarantine services for fruits that have been exported to marketssuch as the United States, the Republic of Korea and Japan.
Theothers are strict food hygiene and safety standards. In fact, Vietnamhas to meet these standards first to increase its fruit exports to othercountries.
In the future, Vietnam will restructure itsplantations to further improve the quality and production efficiency offruits, and thereby increase the quantity and value of its fruitexports.
*In the early part of September, the US Department ofAgriculture opened the doors to litchi and longan exports from Vietnam.What did the country do to take full advantage of this opportunity?
Vietnamhas exported some fruits to the US market, which has a high demand forquality food and also brings high value to exporters. Vietnam hascontinued negotiations for the export of star apple and mango to thatmarket in the future.
To take full advantage of the opportunitythat the US has given to Vietnamese fruits, the country must organiselarge regions for large-scale planning and production because importingcountries demand for the code of the fruit-growing regions to be able todetermine the origin of fruit exports whenever they have problems withplant quarantine, food hygiene and safety.
We must apply high technology, including preservation, to post-harvest production to ensure the fruits' long-term quality.
Therefore,Vietnamese research institutes should promote research and apply thetechnology on fruit production to meet importing countries' standards.
Meanwhile,domestic enterprises that export fruits to the US should pay attentionto the kinds of fruits that require export licences and plant quarantinecertificates from Vietnam's Plant Protection Department, as well asfood hygiene and safety guarantees from the US environment protectionoffice.
*Vietnam spent a long time negotiating with the US forthe export of litchi and longan to its market. What are the reasons forthis?
Negotiations for the opening of the US market toVietnamese fruits have depended on a number of factors. Initially, theUS plant quarantine offices must take time to assess the risk of andsolutions to plant diseases, in accordance with US standards.
Theamount of time for negotiations depends on the standards andpreferences of each country, with Vietnam spending up to five years toget export licences for its fruit from some countries.
Now,Vietnam has much experience in providing required documentation andinformation to importing countries during negotiations, so thesenegotiations could be quickly concluded.
Quick negotiations arealso the result of good co-operation among the Ministries of Agricultureand Rural Development, Industry and Trade, and Foreign Affairs, as wellas good international relationships.
*What does the department do to export more Vietnamese fruit to the world market?
Thedepartment has updated information on the fruit export requirements ofimporting countries and released these to domestic farmers andenterprises. Equipped with this information, farmers and enterprises cannow produce and trade in line with such requirements, to increase theiropportunities to export more fruit and earn more profits from suchexports in the future.-VNA
Nguyen Xuan Hong, Deputy Head of thePlant Protection Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment, tells Vietnam News about the challenges for the fruitmarket at home and aboard.
*What challenges will the domestic fruit market face after Vietnam joins the AEC?
Vietnamhas been importing 400,000 tonnes of fruit from other countries andexporting 1.3 million tonnes of fruit to other countries every year.This means our annual exports are often three times higher than ourannual imports.
The domestic fruit market includes Vietnamese fruits and some imported fruits.
Meanwhile,Vietnam has advantages in the export of certain kinds of fruit such asdragon fruit, litchi and mango, and many countries have a high demandfor such fruits from Vietnam.
The issue here is how Vietnamshould organise production to meet the demand of importing countrieswhich follow strict standards on quality, food hygiene and safety. Thisleads to an increase in the consumption of farmers, as well as in exportvolume.
Regarding competition pressure on local fruits fromimported fruits after the country opens the doors under the AECcommitments, I think there is no pressure because imported and localfruits have advantages that vary from each other.
Vietnam hasexported tropical fruits to temperate countries which, in turn, haveexported their fruits to Vietnam. That is normal. Vietnam permits othercountries to export their fruits to us, and other countries permitVietnam to export its fruits to them.
*Vietnam has a variety ofsucculent fruits but few of them could enter strict markets abroad. Whatare the barriers to Vietnam's fruits in these markets?
One ofthe barriers is plant quarantine. Vietnam must pay the high cost ofplant quarantine services for fruits that have been exported to marketssuch as the United States, the Republic of Korea and Japan.
Theothers are strict food hygiene and safety standards. In fact, Vietnamhas to meet these standards first to increase its fruit exports to othercountries.
In the future, Vietnam will restructure itsplantations to further improve the quality and production efficiency offruits, and thereby increase the quantity and value of its fruitexports.
*In the early part of September, the US Department ofAgriculture opened the doors to litchi and longan exports from Vietnam.What did the country do to take full advantage of this opportunity?
Vietnamhas exported some fruits to the US market, which has a high demand forquality food and also brings high value to exporters. Vietnam hascontinued negotiations for the export of star apple and mango to thatmarket in the future.
To take full advantage of the opportunitythat the US has given to Vietnamese fruits, the country must organiselarge regions for large-scale planning and production because importingcountries demand for the code of the fruit-growing regions to be able todetermine the origin of fruit exports whenever they have problems withplant quarantine, food hygiene and safety.
We must apply high technology, including preservation, to post-harvest production to ensure the fruits' long-term quality.
Therefore,Vietnamese research institutes should promote research and apply thetechnology on fruit production to meet importing countries' standards.
Meanwhile,domestic enterprises that export fruits to the US should pay attentionto the kinds of fruits that require export licences and plant quarantinecertificates from Vietnam's Plant Protection Department, as well asfood hygiene and safety guarantees from the US environment protectionoffice.
*Vietnam spent a long time negotiating with the US forthe export of litchi and longan to its market. What are the reasons forthis?
Negotiations for the opening of the US market toVietnamese fruits have depended on a number of factors. Initially, theUS plant quarantine offices must take time to assess the risk of andsolutions to plant diseases, in accordance with US standards.
Theamount of time for negotiations depends on the standards andpreferences of each country, with Vietnam spending up to five years toget export licences for its fruit from some countries.
Now,Vietnam has much experience in providing required documentation andinformation to importing countries during negotiations, so thesenegotiations could be quickly concluded.
Quick negotiations arealso the result of good co-operation among the Ministries of Agricultureand Rural Development, Industry and Trade, and Foreign Affairs, as wellas good international relationships.
*What does the department do to export more Vietnamese fruit to the world market?
Thedepartment has updated information on the fruit export requirements ofimporting countries and released these to domestic farmers andenterprises. Equipped with this information, farmers and enterprises cannow produce and trade in line with such requirements, to increase theiropportunities to export more fruit and earn more profits from suchexports in the future.-VNA
