U.S. weighs restarting coconut imports from Vietnam

The U.S. is considering resuming fresh coconut imports from Vietnam, which have been affected by a tightened pest risk control policy.

According to Le Van Thiet, deputy head of the Plant Protection Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the U.S. has finished the pest risk review of Vietnam’s fresh coconuts.

However, more comments on the study are expected prior to the release of an official report.

Therefore, if any input is received, further amendments should be made and made public in the Federal Gazette for feedback in the following 60 days.

Once there are no more opinions about the study, the U.S. side will finalize the result.

The U.S. imported fresh coconuts without a green outer layer, which was later entirely removed until the coconut meat was exposed as a post-harvest treatment in 2022.

Speaking with The Saigon Times, Dang Phuc Nguyen, general secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetables Association, said that the policy made life hard for Vietnam in terms of qualified food preservation under the requested standards.

This time, the U.S. review concerning removing only the green outer layers would give Vietnam a chance to revive the demand for this item in the U.S. market, he added.

Source: The Saigon Times