Vietnamese pomelos are officially licensed to export to the US

Ready to export pomelos to the US

Green-skinned pomelo will be the 7th fruit of our country entering the US market. During a recent working session in the US, between the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the US Department of Agriculture, the US Deputy Secretary of Agriculture announced that the opening of Vietnam’s pomelos is being actively promoted. The US side is collecting public comments and will announce it as soon as possible.

In the country, many key localities of the Mekong Delta growing green-skinned pomelo can completely become standard raw materials in both quantity and quality. Currently, both businesses and growers are ready to bring this type of agricultural product to the US.

In Ben Tre – a locality with 8,000 ha of green-skinned pomelo cultivation, as well as many other fruits, there was a time when the price of green-skinned pomelo continuously decreased, to only 15,000 VND/kg. And Mr. Liem (An Khanh commune, Chau Thanh, Ben Tre) thanks to his achievement GlobalGap certification making consumption easier.

“That retail sale also helps GlobalGap growers stabilize the market, selling at a profit,” said Mr. Liem.

The good news about the standard farming process has led businesses to find Ben Tre Green-skinned Grapefruit Cooperative to ask about linking the raw material area, preparing to bring the pomelo to the US. With gardens that have been certified by VietGap and GlobalGap, additional standards are quickly accepted.

“They don’t like large fruits, but the range from 1 – 1.4 kg / fruit is the most beautiful, so when I leave the fruit, I leave more,” said Ms. Ngo Tuong Vy – Deputy Director of Fruit Import and Export Co., Ltd. Chanh Thu shared.

Green-skinned pomelo will be the 7th fruit of our country entering the US market. Illustration.

If the enterprise takes the initiative in raw material areas and consumption partners, the cooperative is in charge of product quality and traceability. In Ben Tre Green Skin Grapefruit Cooperative, more than 100 hectares are ready, with production up to 65 tons per month.

Ms. Ngo Tuong Vy said: “The US market can import pomelos, not only green-skinned pomelos, but also five-ripe pomelos all year round. That’s also the story of how we build a chain of links, how to get enough quality. , the output supplied to the world’s largest market”.

Only 6 types of fresh Vietnamese fruit exported to the US have brought in about 20 million USD in turnover per year. With green-skinned pomelo – a fruit with a long shelf life, it promises to be a bright spot in the near future. At that time, the chain of consumption links will be extended, not only in Ben Tre.

6 kinds of fruits are being exported to the US

According to the Vietnam Trade Office in the US, the US is a potential market for Vietnamese fruits when it has more than 330 million customers with high per capita income and the culinary trend is increasingly focusing on vegetable and fruit ingredients.

In the first 4 months of this year, the US is still the largest market for Vietnam’s agricultural, forestry and fishery products, with export turnover of nearly 4.9 billion USD, accounting for 27.3%. In which, the export turnover of vegetables and fruits continued to increase significantly over the same period. Up to now, 6 types of fresh fruit have been officially licensed to export to the US, including mango, longan, litchi, dragon fruit, rambutan and star apple.

Dragon fruit is the first fruit of Vietnam to be exported to the US market in 2008. Since then, the amount of dragon fruit exported to the US has increased year by year.

Rambutan is the second fruit of Vietnam allowed to be exported to the US in 2011.

In 2014, the US Department of Agriculture officially licensed Vietnamese longans and litchi to enter this market. Besides Hung Yen longan, Song Ma longan (Son La), Mien Thiet longan are also exported to the US.

The 5th fruit of Vietnam that meets the standards for entering the US is breast milk. The first export batch of breast milk was in December 2017, after 10 years of negotiation. Vietnam is also the first country licensed to export breast milk to the US market.

Most recently, in February 2019, mango officially became the 6th fruit available in this market.

Requirements of fruit when entering the US

There is no denying the potential of the US market with Vietnamese fruit. Despite the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, in 2020, the US still imported more than 14 billion USD of fruit, up from the previous year.

The US is also one of the most demanding markets for imported agricultural products. However, your standards are also very clear, the rest is that businesses and farmers need to link to produce according to safety standards and meet the strict requirements of this market.

According to the Plant Protection Department, if you want to export fruit to the US, you must meet 3 main standards, including: The growing area meets the standards and is authorized by the US side to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to assign the Plant Protection Department to the Plant Protection Department. granting planting area codes; The packing factory must be granted a code by an American expert; Products must be irradiated at a factory with a standard code number.

According to the US Department of Agriculture, the country has a great demand for fruit with up to 12 million tons per year. The country’s domestic fresh fruit production can only meet 70% of the demand, the remaining 30% (equivalent to about 3.6 million tons) is imported. This will be a huge space and opportunity for Vietnamese fruit.

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