Dragon fruit from many regions of Vietnam can be exported to Australia.

(Baonghean.vn) - The Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources has just released the Final Report on the assessment of biosecurity requirements for the import of fresh dragon fruit from Vietnam. The report recommends that Australia allow the import of fresh dragon fruit from all commercial dragon fruit production areas of Vietnam, provided that biosecurity requirements are met.

Red-fleshed dragon fruit has a sweet, fragrant taste and beautiful color, grown in Nghe An. Photo courtesy

» Red-fleshed dragon fruit - new specialty of Nghe An

“We are very pleased with this important development. The Australian Government looks forward to continuing to work with Vietnam on the next steps to make the import of fresh dragon fruit from Vietnam into Australia a reality,” said Mr. Craig Chittick, Australian Ambassador to Vietnam.

Before the two sides can proceed with the import and export of dragon fruit, the Australian and Vietnamese Governments need to complete a number of final steps, including establishing standard operating procedures for dragon fruit steam processing facilities and finalizing import conditions for Vietnamese dragon fruit.

Australia began the process of reviewing the importation of fresh dragon fruit from Vietnam into the Australian market in April 2016. Officials from the Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources visited major dragon fruit production areas in Vietnam in June 2016 to observe production and packaging systems. A public consultation on the draft Report for the Assessment of Biosecurity Requirements for Importation of Fresh Dragon Fruit from Vietnam was completed in mid-November 2016.

Australia is also considering importing other fruits from Vietnam. The first batches of Vietnamese lychees were exported to Australia in May 2015 and the first batch of Vietnamese mangoes were exported to this market in September 2016.

Binh Chau - Binh Nguyen