The Director of the Plant Protection Department has just informed us about the verification of 30 batches of Vietnamese durians that were warned by China about cadmium beyond the required limit.
In March, the Plant Protection Department received a warning from the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) about 30 batches of Vietnamese durian exported to China with cadmium contamination beyond the limit of the country’s food safety regulations.
According to Mr. Dat, Director of the Plant Protection Department, after receiving the warning, the Plant Protection Department has asked localities and businesses to review it. Along with that, an inspection team was formed to take samples in durian-growing areas included in the cadmium contamination warning list.
The delegation thoroughly checked samples of soil, water, fertilizers, growth stimulants, and chemicals. As a result, no samples were found to exceed the cadmium limit as warned by China.
China remains the largest export market for Vietnamese durians.
The Plant Protection Department is gathering information to report to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, then will hold a meeting with the Chinese authorities and a press conference to widely inform the people and authorities in the country.
At the request of GACC and Vietnam’s regulations on food safety traceability for alerted shipments, the Plant Protection Department recommends that businesses with violating shipments comply with the regulations on recall and handling under the management of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The Department also requested the Department of Food Safety of Ho Chi Minh City and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of the provinces, including Tien Giang, Lang Son, Dong Nai, Dak Lak, and Hanoi, to direct specialized agencies to supervise enterprises to trace the warned shipments.
Currently, China is the largest export market for Vietnamese durian. In 2023, China spent 2.1 billion USD to buy 493,000 tons of durian from Vietnam, an increase of 1,036% in value and 1.107% in volume compared to 2022. Vietnam’s durian market share in China’s total imports sharply increased from 5% in 2022 to 34.6% in 2023.
In the first 4 months of 2024, it is estimated that durian exports from Vietnam reached 500 million USD, up about 30% compared to the same period last year. Durian exports at the beginning of this year continued to grow well, mainly thanks to high demand from the Chinese market. /.