Peak industry body Apple and Pear Australia Ltd (APAL) has admitted Australian exporters face a number of technical market access concerns in Vietnam, however, it denied trade to the South East Asian nation had been suspended.
APAL held a teleconference with the Australian Department of Agriculture and the Office of Horticulture Market Access (OHMA) late last week, in which it was confirmed that no bans have been implemented. The assurance followed weeks of widespread industry rumours suggesting that Vietnam had revoked market access for all Australian fresh produce products.
Vietnam is scheduled to transition to a new set of import regulations on 1 January 2015, with APAL hopeful that government officials from both countries will be able to address any issues before then. Glenn Eagan of leading exporter Australia Fruits echoed APAL’s sentiment.
“No one wants to loose access to Vietnam,” Eagan told Asiafruit. “The situation needs to be handled very carefully because Vietnam is a key market for a large number of Australian exporters.”
The Department of Agriculture is currently working with Vietnamese officials to reassure it of the competency of its national detection and management systems for fruit fly in Australia, which are widely recognised by other trading partners across the world.
