US opens door to Vietnam’s fresh coconuts
US opens door to Vietnam’s fresh coconuts
The United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has announced that the U.S. started opening its door for the import of fresh husked coconuts from Vietnam, the Plant Protection Department under the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Saturday.
The APHIS finished updating the online database of agricultural goods import requirements on Monday to approve the import of fresh coconuts from Vietnam.
The move resulted from the close cooperation between the APHIS and the Vietnamese Plant Protection Department in analyzing a risk of plant pests to husked coconuts imported from Vietnam into the U.S..
Accordingly, Vietnamese husked coconuts meet the phytosanitary criteria set by the U.S..
Vietnam’s coconuts with their husks removed completely or 75 percent of their coir removed are eligible for shipment to the American market.
Vietnamese coconuts will undergo phytosanitary processes at U.S. border points of entry.
A representative of the Plant Protection Department said that China’s General Administration of Customs will conduct on-site checks on some coconut growing areas and packaging facilities in Vietnam in late August to issue export codes, helping ramp up Vietnam’s coconut exports.
In 2022, Vietnam earned US$900 million from coconut exports.
The country’s coconut industry has nearly 90 products offered in the market, while there are some 200 food products using coconut ingredients, reported the Vietnam News Agency.
