Vietnam to export dragon fruit to Australia
Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh asked the Australian Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Investment on May 21 to create favourable conditions for Vietnam to export dragon fruits to Australia.
On June 15, the Australian Embassy in Vietnam sent a letter to update information about the process to open the door for Vietnamese dragon fruits. They also offered support when applying for the Food Standards Australia New Zealand’s permission for irradiation treatment of dragon fruits.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade then worked with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to complete the procedures this year.
Meanwhile the Vietnamese Trade Office in Australia has created a promotion plan for the fruit. It will collect information about market demand, criteria and distribution network in Australia to help Vietnamese firms enter the market.
It has worked with Australian Horticultural Exporters' Association, Retailers Association and major overseas Vietnamese businesses in Australia to carry out promotional campaigns such as lychee events in Melbourne and Sydney, and leaflets to introduce Vietnamese fruits and aqua products.
Asides from negotiations with Australian authorities and holding promotion programmes, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will work with relevant agencies to find and ask major firms from Australian to transfer technology to Vietnam.
The ministry is co-operating with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to negotiating to export other fruits to Australia. The negotiation for a specific type of fruit usually takes up from five to ten years.
Vietnam was given approval to export lychee in 2015 and mangos in 2016.
