The Plant Protection Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development announced in the afternoon of October 17 in Hanoi the requirements for the export of Vietnamese fresh pomelo to the US market. Mr. Hoang Trung, Director of the Plant Protection Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam, said that after more than five years of negotiations, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) officially announced that fresh grapefruit imports from Vietnam are allowed.
Accordingly, after fresh mango, longan, lychee, dragon fruit, rambutan and star apple, Vietnam has become the seventh fruit permitted to be exported to the US market.
It is reported that the United States has a large consumer demand for fruit, up to 12 million tons per year. At present, the U.S. domestic fresh fruit production can only meet 70% of domestic demand, the remaining 30% (equivalent to about 3.6 million tons) must be imported from foreign countries.
Currently, Vietnam has about 105,400 hectares of grapefruit planted with an output of nearly 905,000 tons, producing typical varieties of grapefruit from different regions. In particular, in the delta region of the Jiulong River in Vietnam, grapefruit is grown on about 32,000 hectares with a production of about 369,000 tons. This is a huge space and opportunity for Vietnamese fresh pomelo and even Vietnamese fruits to enter the U.S. market.
To implement the plan to export fresh pomelo to the US market, the Plant Protection Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam will coordinate with relevant parties to deploy solutions in parallel, especially focusing on training producers and exporters to grasp the requirements for exporting fresh pomelo to the US market.
Ms. Ngô Tường Vy, General Director of Chanh Thu Fruit Import-Export Co., Ltd. based in Ben Tre Province, expressed her wish to export Vietnamese grapefruit to the US market as soon as possible, as grapefruit is one of the main products of Ben Tre Province. Ltd. and grapefruit exporters have been working hard to obtain raw materials and packaging facilities that meet US standards, while hoping to get in touch with major supermarket chains in the US.
Source: Vietnam People’s Daily Online
Post time: Oct-24-2022