Enterprises advised to focus on organic fruit, vegetable exports to EU

Ministries and departments should facilitate the transport of such competitive fruits as dragon fruits, longans, rambutans, grapefruits and mangoes (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable businesses should eye on organic products for export to the European market, experts said at a workshop in Hanoi on October 11.

According to Secretary General of the Vietnam Fruits and Vegetables Association Nguyen Huu Dat, Vietnam’s export of fruits and vegetables is forecast to increase in the coming time. 

Besides major markets such as the US, Australia, and Japan, businesses are seeking to make inroads into the EU given its potential.

Statistics showed that Vietnam earned more than 2.6 billion USD from shipping fruits and vegetables abroad, representing a year-on-year increase of 44.2 percent. 

The EU is evaluated a promising market for Vietnamese fruit and vegetable, however, it has strict requirements on food safety. Therefore, the export turnover of Vietnamese fruits and vegetables to the EU only stood at 100 million USD.

The regulations on pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables are one of the factors to hinder Vietnamese businesses to penetrate into the market, Dat said.

He suggested businesses improving cultivation in the net houses to achieve higher technical economic efficiency.

Apart from food security, products must meet the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) and GlobalGAP standards on manufacturing, processing and packaging, he added.

Ruggero Malossi, a specialist of the European Trade Policy and Investment Support Project (EU-MUTRAP), said the EU limits the use of some chemicals to ensure food safety and avoid environmental losses, so imported products must be controlled.

Experts proposed ministries and departments soon build proper strategies for each market and facilitate the transport of such competitive fruits as dragon fruits, longans, rambutans, grapefruits and mangoes.

Businesses should concentrate on areas to develop key export products while investing in phytosanitary treatment, preservation and deep processing technologies to meet requirements of foreign markets.