South Korea officially licenses the import of Vietnamese pomelo

According to the Plant Protection Department of Vietnam, on July 30, after 3 months of extensive consultation with relevant parties, the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency (APQA) of South Korea announced on its website the import regulations for fresh pomelo from Vietnam to South Korea. This is considered the official announcement allowing the import of Vietnamese fresh pomelo.

Pomelo is the third Vietnamese fresh fruit allowed to be imported into South Korea, after dragon fruit and mango. The Plant Protection Department assesses that this is an important step forward, opening up great opportunities for Vietnam's agricultural products to access the international market while affirming the quality and reputation of Vietnam's agricultural products in the global supply chain.

With a market of 50 million people, South Korea is a very potential market for Vietnamese pomelo, which is one of 14 key fruit groups according to the fruit tree development project oriented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The entire country currently has more than 100,000 hectares of pomelo farming, with an output of over 900,000 tons. The Mekong Delta region alone accounts for about 32,000 hectares, with an output of about 370,000 tons, and is considered a key production area.

Provinces with large pomelo areas include Ben Tre (over 8,800 hectares), Vinh Long (over 8,600 hectares), and Dong Nai (more than 5,400 hectares). Famous pomelo varieties with great export potential include green-skinned pomelo, Nam Roi pomelo, Tan Trieu pomelo, etc.

Before South Korea, some large markets, such as the US and New Zealand, also licensed for Vietnamese fresh pomelo. Vietnamese pomelo is now officially exported to 13 countries and territories. It is forecast that by 2025, this number will increase to 14, with the participation of Australia.

According to statistics from the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, along with durian, pomelo is a fruit product with rising value since the beginning of 2023.

Since 2018, the Plant Protection Department has launched a market-opening program for Vietnamese pomelo exported to South Korea. The negotiation process was accelerated after Covid-19.

After 2 years of coordination and information exchange to perform pest risk analysis and many rounds of negotiations, the Plant Protection Department and APQA reached a technical agreement in a bilateral meeting in April 2024.

On July 18, the Plant Protection Department posted on its website draft requirements on plant quarantine and food safety for Vietnamese fresh pomelo imported into South Korea to help interested organizations and individuals be able to learn and get information about these regulations in advance.

The Department suggests that relevant parties carefully study requirements on plant quarantine for fresh pomelo imported into South Korea and quickly implement trade promotion activities and export pomelo to this Northeast Asian country.