The decision was made after the EU found that Vietnamese fruit has yet to comply with residue threshold regulations, according to the bloc’s amendment to regulations regarding the temporary enhancement of official controls and emergency measures for managing the entry of certain goods from third countries into the EU.
Earlier this year, Vietnamese durian, both chilled and fresh, exported to the EU were subjected to pesticide residue checks at a 10% rate.
Throughout this year, there have been several cases in Vietnam of non-compliance with plant quarantine and hygiene regulations during exports, as well as fraud in durian exports.
In the EU’s new regulations, chili, okra, and dragon fruit retain their current inspection rates at borders, with dragon fruit at 30%, and chili and okra at 50%.
These regulations will take effect on January 8, 2025.
The EU imports around US$160 billion worth of agricultural products every year, of which Vietnam accounted for a modest 4-5%.
Vietnam’s export revenue of agricultural products to the EU was US$5.34 billion in 2023, a drop of 12.2% on falling consumption demand.
Statistics show as of October, Vietnam’s durian exports exceeded US$3 billion, accounting for 49.11% of the total export turnover. Besides fresh durians, Vietnam also exports frozen and dried durians.
China remains the largest export market for Vietnamese durians. In the first nine months of this year, China imported nearly 618,000 tonnes of durians from Vietnam, valued at US$2.45 billion, up 72.2% in volume and 57.3% in value compared to the same period last year.
