Star apple is one of eight fresh Vietnamese fruits allowed to be imported into the United States.

The Vietnam Trade Office in the United States said that with a population of over 330 million people and large consumption, the United States is a key market for agricultural products and food, including seasonal fruits.

In 2023, the United States imported about 20 billion USD worth of fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables, mainly berries (4.3 billion USD), avocados (2.98 billion USD), bananas (2.76 billion USD), grapes (2.49 billion USD), citrus fruits (1.89 billion USD), strawberries (1.49 billion USD)...

The main customer group today is the Asian community and especially the growing Vietnamese community, concentrated in large urban areas and cities in the United States.

LONG GEOGRAPHICAL DISTANCE, LIMITED PRESERVATION TECHNOLOGY

Vietnam currently has 8 types of fresh fruit allowed to be imported into the United States including: dragon fruit, mango, longan, lychee, rambutan, star apple, grapefruit, and coconut.

Fruits must be assigned a growing area code, packing house, irradiated treatment certified by the Department of Agriculture (APHIS - Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service) and accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate confirming compliance with U.S. phytosanitary requirements.

Fruit imported into the United States is subject to various regulations and laws, such as the Plant Protection Act, the Food Safety Modernization Act, the Food Quality Protection Act, and the Plant Protection and Quarantine Program.

This country requires agricultural and food exporting enterprises to register their production facilities and register a representative in the United States as a contact point. Every 2 years, foreign enterprises exporting food products to the United States must re-register their production facilities and their representatives are granted a valid business code for the item.

Fruit growing and processing areas must comply with standards such as: GlobalGAP, environmental certification, ISO, HACCP, USDA and ensure no residue of pesticides not registered in the United States, no contamination with microorganisms, bacteria, mold; the harvesting process must ensure no impact on fruit quality.

Besides having to meet the above requirements, compared to countries exporting to the United States, especially countries in the Americas, Vietnam's export products face a number of difficulties and challenges.

Firstly, the seasonal nature of the harvest is short, and fresh products spoil quickly. The long geographical distance increases transportation time and costs.

Second, it has to compete with South American and Asian markets that have the same products. While preservation technology is limited, products that undergo irradiation have their temperature changed, so they cannot maintain their original quality, and their freshness is greatly reduced after they arrive at the port.

Third,  domestic production scale is still small, making it difficult to meet the quantity and requirements of importers. There has not been adequate investment in packaging, packaging, design and promotion in the US market.

IMPROVING THE ADDED VALUE OF SEASONAL FRUITS

The Vietnam Trade Office in the United States believes that this is a truly potential market for Vietnamese fruits and vegetables, so growing regions, businesses, and the state need to strengthen solutions to overcome the above difficulties.

Specifically, localities and businesses need to increase the added value of seasonal fruits by adding processed products such as dried fruits, fruit powders, and canned products that can be consumed year-round.

Applying new technology helps prolong the shelf life of fruits, for example, technology to put fruits into a state of hibernation, preserve living cells, use biological products, coatings, and permitted preservatives to prolong the shelf life of fruits.

Develop a master plan to systematically, synchronously, with highlights and persistence in promoting and promoting seasonal fruit trade, building stories associated with fruit, exploiting real images of growing areas, organizing booths to introduce products at Vietnamese and Asian markets.

In particular, invite import businesses to visit growing areas and processing facilities, and promote twinning relationships with localities in the United States to serve as a basis for spreading the brand image of Vietnamese products.

Import-export enterprises, in addition to the leading role of large enterprises with experience in exporting fresh fruit, need to encourage, train and coach small and medium enterprises to promote their strengths and actively participate in export. In this group, the role of import enterprises in the United States, first of all, overseas Vietnamese enterprises, is indispensable to help consume goods at market chains and Asian trade centers.

For logistics units, it is necessary to encourage and support the participation of transportation businesses (airlines, shipping) to reduce transportation costs for seasonal fruits during peak seasons from Vietnam to the United States and other markets.

Encourage logistics enterprises to promote the strengths of infrastructure systems and optimize specialized logistics models for agricultural products for export.

The Vietnam Trade Office in the United States requested the Plant Protection Department (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) to discuss and negotiate with US authorities to allow the application of additional quarantine treatment measures such as hot steam treatment to reduce costs and take advantage of existing resources and equipment.

Thuy Linh