Organic coconuts. Việt Nam expects to export fresh coconuts to China in the future. —Photo baochinhphu.vn

HÀ NỘI — Agencies from China will visit Việt Nam next month to inspect planting regions and packing facilities of fresh coconuts registering for export to China, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

MARD's Plant Protection Department has sent a document to the departments of agriculture and rural development in provinces and cities, saying that the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) will conduct a field inspection for these planting regions and packing facilities of fresh coconuts in Việt Nam to complete the assessment of pest risk as a basis for the signing of the protocol on importing fresh coconuts from Việt Nam to China.

GACC will inspect coconut pest control and prevention systems at planting sites and packing facilities, as well as the process of harvesting, transporting and packaging coconuts.

After the inspection, China will conduct a risk assessment and propose appropriate import requirements to develop a protocol on importing fresh coconuts from Việt Nam.

The Plant Protection Department has proposed the sub-department of cultivation and plant protection in the localities to support the planting regions and packing facilities of fresh coconuts during the inspection.

At the same time, they will prepare documents relating to the management and prevention of harmful coconut pests as required by GACC.

The localities review the planting regions and packaging facilities of fresh coconuts that register to export to China. Their authorities also guide the planting regions and packaging facilities to complete the relevant documents and prepare all conditions for this inspection.

In addition, the Plant Protection Department also said that it had received a draft of a report on import requirements for Vietnamese fresh passion fruit that has been sent by the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) to the Vietnamese side for comments.

Accordingly, fresh passion fruit harvested from planting regions in Việt Nam is allowed to be exported to Australia if it meets the biosecurity requirements of this market. The report has identified 11 pests that pose a biosecurity risk, including fruit flies, aphids, spider mites and thrips.

To reduce these risks, the draft proposes a number of risk management measures, including the establishment of pest-free production regions. The application of irradiation treatment is considered an effective measure in the management of fruit fly species.

The requirements to ensure biosecurity in the report will be the basis for developing import conditions for Việt Nam's fresh passion fruits to Australia.

Việt Nam needs to demonstrate its ability to manage those risks to ensure the safety for the fresh passion fruits exported from Việt Nam to Australia.

The Plant Protection Department has asked localities, enterprises and individuals producing and exporting passion fruit, as well as plant quarantine agencies, to have comments on the report on import requirements for Vietnamese passion fruit exported to Australia.

Meanwhile, the agriculture and rural development departments of localities need to review fresh passion fruit planting regions that register for export to Australia.

The enterprises and individuals actively prepare all conditions for the planting regions under Australian requirements to be ready to export to the Australian market.

In 2022, Việt Nam's passion fruit output was estimated at 135,000 tonnes, mainly planted in Gia Lai and Đắk Lắk.

Việt Nam's passion fruits are now exported to many markets, including the EU and China. — VNS