Some durian shipments to China warned over food safety

Each durian tree has a QR Code in a garden in Đắk Lắk Province. — VNA/VNS Photo

China General Administration of Customs (GACC) has issued a warning over around 30 shipments of Vietnamese durian exported to China containing cadmium, a heavy metal, exceeding the regulated food safety limit, according to the Plant Protection Department under Việt Nam Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Documents have been sent to departments of agriculture and rural development in Tiền Giang, Lạng Sơn, Đồng Nai, Đắk Lắk, Hà Nội and relevant agencies and businesses to request the implementation of origin tracing of these shipments.

The Plant Protection Department received GACC’s warnings and asked enterprises which owned these violating shipments to comply with the regulations on origin tracing, recalling and handling.

Enterprises must carry out investigation to figure out the causes, review all records from production to harvest and export, raise handling measures and report to the Plant Protection Department before April 1. It will serve as base to response to GACC before April 3 to avoid China’s making conclusions which will negatively affect exports of agricultural products.

Currently, China is Việt Nam’s largest durian export market.

In 2023, China spent US$2.1 billion to buy 439,000 tonnes of durian from Việt Nam, a rise of 1,036 per cent in value and 1,107 per cent in volume over 2022. The whopping rises following China's decision to allow official durian import from Việt Nam from September 2022.

The market share of Vietnamese durian in China rose from 5 per cent in 2022 to 34.6 per cent in 2023. Durian export price to China averaged $4,332.2 per tonne.

Durian export is expected to reach $3-3.5 billion this year, in case China opens market for frozen durian from Việt Nam.