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After more than 5 years of negotiations, the US Department of Agriculture has officially announced to allow the import of fresh pomelos from Vietnam. Thus, Vietnam’s fresh pomelo (citrus maxima) is the 7th fruit of Vietnam allowed to be imported into the United States after mango, longan, litchi, dragon fruit, rambutan and breast milk.
The United States has a large consumption demand for fruit, up to 12 million tons per year. The country’s domestic fresh fruit production can only meet 70% of the demand, the remaining 30% (equivalent to about 3.6 million tons) must be imported.
Meanwhile, the whole country has 105,400 hectares planted with pomelos, with an output of nearly 905,000 tons; with diverse pomelo varieties, typical for each region. Particularly, the Mekong Delta has about 32 thousand hectares with an output of about 369,000 tons… This is a huge space and opportunity for Vietnamese fruit in general and fresh pomelo in particular to approach the US market.
As reported, to export pomelo to the US, the Plant Protection Department will work with relevant parties to carry out concerted measures, especially training farmers and exporting companies in the US’s import requirements. It will also maintain the granting of production unit codes and strictly monitor pest contamination in fruit.
All pomelo batches to be shipped to the US will be irradiated at the US-recognised irradiation establishments under the supervision of the US Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the Plant Protection Department.
On October 12, a delegation of United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) experts visited and inspected the pomelo growing area and packing facility in Ben Tre province.
