The Australian Department of Agriculture will lead a delegation to Vietnam next week in the hope of reopening access to the South East Asian nation for fresh produce exports.
Representatives from Australia’s stonefruit and table grape industries will also travel to Hanoi as part of the delegation. John Moore, chief executive of peak stonefruit body Summerfruit Australia, said that while industry would not take part in formal discussions with the Vietnamese Government, he insisted it was important to have a presence at the negotiations.
“As industry reps, we'll be on call to answer any questions from a commercial point of view,' Moore told the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC). 'Our preference is air freight and we don't really want to change industry standards, particularly here in Australia. So we're just there to show strength and show that the industries of Australia are most concerned.'
Vietnam stopped issuing import permits to Australian fruit and vegetable exporters on 1 January, citing a reassessment of its protocols surrounding Mediterranean fruit fly.
A Department of Agriculture spokesperson told the ABC that it had provided Vietnam with 23 technical market access submissions across 41 fresh fruit lines, addressing pest control.
