HANOI, May 8 - From June 30 this year, Vietnamese fresh fruits and vegetables will be granted quarantine certificates for export to the European Union (EU) market, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development ( MARD) on Wednesday.Nguyen Van Nga, head of MARD's Flora Quarantine Department, told local media that his department will re-grant quarantine certificates to fresh fruits and vegetables for export to the EU after more than one year of suspension.
In early 2012, the MARD decided not to grant quarantine certificates for export of five kinds of fresh fruits and vegetables to the EU after failing to meet EU's requirement for food safety.
Meanwhile, the MARD advised domestic fruit and vegetable exporters to purchase products from producers who have applied the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) farming model.
According to the Vietnam Fruits and Vegetables Association ( Vinafruit), the country expected to earn 1 billion U.S. dollars from fruit and vegetable exports this year, up from last year's 829 million dollars.
In the first four months, fruit and vegetable exports reached 187 million dollars in value, a year on year increase of 10 percent.
Vietnamese fruits and vegetables were sold to more than 50 countries and regions, with China, the United States, EU and Japan being the main importers, according to the association.
