Vietnam exported US$417 million worth of fruits and vegetables in January, down 5.2% year-on-year and 11.3% from the previous month as China tightened safety requirements.
It now requires testing for a potentially carcinogenic chemical called auramine O, or basic yellow 2, causing many shipments of durian, a key item, to be held up at customs, according to the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association.
This requirement was introduced after the chemical was found in several Thai durian shipments in late 2024.
Some Vietnamese exporters have had to redirect their durian shipments to the domestic market and sell them at distress prices, with many temporarily halting exports to China.
Businesses are now completing the required tests at the nine centers in Vietnam recognized by China.
An executive at an export company in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang said: “Nine is a rather small number. Vietnam needs to push for more [centers] to avoid bottlenecks during peak times.”
Dang Phuc Nguyen, the association’s general secretary, warned that fruit and vegetable exports may fail to reach this year’s target of $8 billion if these inspection hurdles are not promptly overcome.
Several other markets have also raised their import standards, including the U.S., which now requires plantation and packaging codes issued by its Department of Agriculture, and the EU, which has doubled the rate of Vietnamese fruits screened for pesticides to 20%.
Ongoing geopolitical instability, such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict and tensions in the Red Sea, continues to impact maritime transport, also potentially hampering exports this year.
Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable exports hit a record $7.15 billion in 2024, up 27.6% from the previous year, with shipments to most key markets growing by 10-80%.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade’s import-export department recommends that farmers, cooperatives and businesses should collaborate to improve product quality and enhance the presence of Vietnamese brands on the global market.
