Vietnam produce finds surprising growth in foreign markets Vietnam has removed many technical barriers for its agricultural products to penetrate foreign markets with a focus on the US, Japan, Australia and the Republic of Korea (RoK). According to the Plant Protection Department (PPD) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), negotiations to deal with technical barriers produced significant positive results in 2014. A representative of MARD said the talks have now paved the way for litchi to get a toehold in the US, for dragon fruit to find a footpath into the New Zealand market as well as for mangos to find a path into the RoK.  Prospects for farm exports After the US officially allowed the import of Vietnamese fresh longan and litchi, the first batch of fresh longan was shipped to the US market in December 2014. The US has revealed it intends to import Vietnamese mangos and star apples this year. Dragon fruit Meanwhile, Japan has been cooperating with Vietnam to ensure quality mangos for export to the Japanese market. The two countries have also been conducting negotiations to open up the market for Vietnamese red-flesh dragon fruit. Vietnam has met all conditions for import of mangos into the RoK and the government has been considering granting authorization for the import of Vietnamese star apples. Taiwanese importers have also expressed an interest on purchasing Vietnamese dragon fruit provided they comply with food hygiene and safety regulations. The Australian market has set out a number of conditions for Vietnam’s export of fresh litchi. For mango and dragon fruits, MARD has sent all necessary information to the Australian relevant agencies in order for them to complete pest risk analysis (PRA) testing. The PPD has asked for Australia accelerating PRA for Vietnamese fresh mango and dragon fruit while proposing changes to several regulations imposed on Vietnamese rice to Mexico. In New Zealand, Vietnamese exporters signed several contract to sell dragon fruit while keeping an eye on shipping rambutan to the promising market. Moreover, Vietnam has also been dickering to export four kinds of flower to New Zealand, including rose, daisy, carnation and lisianthus. Meeting phytosanitary regulations The PPD said most of Vietnamese agro-products met importers’ requirements on plant quarantine. Last year, 90 letters of notification of violations were issued for Vietnamese partners, a reduction of 20% from 2013.  Luc Ngan litchi in the northern province of Bac Giang However, a number of Vietnamese spices have been among those violating phytosanitary regulations. The European Union (EU) informed that five kinds of Vietnamese vegetable were not qualified for sale in the demanding market. The Department asked local producers and exporters to pay due attention to meeting phytosanitary regulations and other requirements by EU importers. PPD Director Nguyen Xuan Hong said Vietnam strictly implemented food hygiene and safety regulations in 2014 and prevented the use of harmful chemicals in agricultural production. The PPD intensified inspections on the trading and the use of pesticides, and all kinds of imported pesticides were carefully examined by the MARD and other functional agencies, he adds. Talking about the PPD’s tasks in 2015, Hong emphasized the need to popularise the application of the integrated pest management (IPM) – an effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management, and advanced technologies in production. He noted the Department will also intensify inspection and management over pesticides as well as working to ensure safety of vegetables and fruits. VOV