Fresh pomelo fruit was officially exported to the US after 5 years of negotiations. This is the 7th fruit of Vietnam exported to this market, after fruits: mango, longan, lychee, dragon fruit, rambutan, and breast milk.
On October 17, in Hanoi, the Plant Protection Department (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) held a ceremony to announce the phytosanitary requirements for pomelo fruit exported to the US, after the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) posted it in the official gazette. The state decided to allow the import of fresh Vietnamese pomelos into this market from October 4.

Fresh Vietnamese pomelos are officially exported to the US - Photo 1
Representative of the US Animal and Plant Health Quarantine Agency awarded the certificate of exporting Vietnamese pomelo to the US market to the Plant Protection Department
HOANG PHAN

Hoang Trung, Director of the Plant Protection Department, said that in order to bring pomelos to the US market, it took Vietnamese authorities 5 years to negotiate and work with the US side with extremely favorable conditions. strict.

According to US regulations, the growing area and processing facility of Vietnamese fresh pomelos exported to this market must be registered with the Plant Protection Department and the US Animal and Plant Health Quarantine (APHIS). Grapefruit must not be infected with the plant quarantine object of interest to the US. Consignments of pomelos for export must be irradiated and granted a phytosanitary certificate by the Plant Protection Department.

According to Mr. Trung, Vietnam's fresh pomelo is the 7th fruit our country is allowed to import into the US, after fruits: mango, longan, litchi, dragon fruit, rambutan and milkweed. Besides, some other fruits such as coconut and durian are still exported to the US but in the form of frozen products.

According to the Department of Crop Production, there are currently 105,400 hectares of pomelo growing across the country, with an output of nearly 905,000 tons with diverse pomelo varieties, typical for each region. In which, the Red River Delta has more than 13,000 hectares with an output of over 175,000 tons; Northern midland and mountainous area has more than 30,000 hectares with an output of 253,000 tons. The largest pomelo growing area is concentrated in the Mekong Delta with about 32,000 hectares, the output is about 369,000 tons.

The Plant Protection Department said that with a large area and output, pomelo growing areas distributed in many localities will be favorable conditions for Vietnamese pomelos to expand export markets, not only the US market.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Hieu, Head of International Cooperation and Communication (Department of Plant Protection), said that in 2021, more than 3,000 tons of Vietnamese pomelos have been exported to many countries. It is expected that Nam Roi pomelo and green skin pomelo will be the first two types of pomelo that will be promoted for export to the US market in the near future.