Vietnamese mangoes are about to enter the US market.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has just published in the Federal Register a proposal seeking public comments on amendments and revisions to the regulations allowing the import of fresh Vietnamese mangoes into the continental United States.

"With this move, it can be almost certainly confirmed that fresh mangoes will be the sixth Vietnamese fruit allowed to be imported and consumed in the US starting from the end of this year," the Vietnamese Trade Office in the United States assessed.

Each year, the United States imports approximately 400,000 tons of fresh mangoes. (Illustrative image: KT)

However, in order to enter this potentially lucrative but also very demanding market, the Vietnam Trade Office in the United States believes that fresh mangoes from Vietnam will have to meet strict control standards, including regulations on orchards, irradiation treatment, and customs inspection at the port of arrival…

Accordingly, fresh mangoes can only be imported into the US from Vietnam in commercial shipments and must be accompanied by a food safety certificate from the Vietnam National Plant Protection Agency (NPPO).

The U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) only permits the import of fresh mangoes from Vietnam into the continental United States if they undergo mandatory irradiation treatment with a minimum dose of 400 Gy, aimed at eliminating all insects except for certain species such as pupae and adult lepidopteran beetles, as this dose is insufficient to kill them all, but sufficient to kill their larvae.

The risks posed by the fungus Macrophoma mangiferae must also be addressed well in advance of harvest; the fruit must come from orchards that have been extensively treated with fungicides during their development;

Each shipment of fresh mangoes for export must have a phytosanitary certificate issued by the Vietnam Plant Protection Department, which must clearly state that the fruit in the shipment has been quarantined and that no pests such as Macrophoma mangiferae, Xanthomonas campestri, and Mangiferae indicae have been detected.

According to experts, with the decision to allow the import of fresh mangoes from Vietnam, it is expected that Vietnam could export approximately 3,000 tons of fresh mangoes to the United States annually, equivalent to nearly 1% of the country's total fresh mango imports and equal to the US domestic production.

Currently, the United States imports approximately 400,000 tons of fresh mangoes annually, primarily from countries such as Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, and Guatemala, to meet domestic consumption needs.

According to VOV