China Issues Warnings Over Vietnamese Frozen Coconut Juice Products

According to Vietnamese media reports, the General Administration of Customs of China has discovered that the levels of coliform bacteria, yeast and mold in some frozen coconut juice products imported from Vietnam exceed China’s food safety thresholds.

The GACC indicated that the root cause of these issues lies in the food safety control processes implemented by the companies. Remote online inspections will be conducted on these companies as deemed necessary. The Chinese government has also requested that Vietnamese authorities intensify their inspections of the companies in question.

Data from the Vietnam National Institute of Agricultural Planning and Projection indicate that the country’s coconut cultivation area has now exceeded 188,000 hectares. As the most significant coconut-producing region in Vietnam, Ben Tre province boasts a cultivation area of approximately 78,000 hectares, producing nearly 800 million units annually and generating an annual export value of $200 million. Coconut products account for 20% of the province’s industrial production value and 25% of its total export value.

Currently, fresh coconuts from Vietnam are not permitted to enter China through formal trade channels and can only be brought in via small-scale duty-free border trade schemes. In 2023, the GACC dispatched personnel to inspect coconut plantations in Vietnam. At the end of the year, both governments jointly issued a statement expressing that China will actively promote market access procedures for various agricultural products from Vietnam, including fresh coconuts, frozen fruit products, citrus fruits, avocados, sugar apples, wax apples, poultry and livestock products.

With Vietnam expecting the market access procedures for fresh coconuts to be completed by 2024, the Vietnam Coconut Association has already set the target of achieving $1 billion in export revenue for the year. According to the association, approximately 20 enterprises in Vietnam are qualified to export coconuts to 35 countries and regions worldwide. With the imminent opening of the U.S. and Chinese markets, these enterprises are actively expanding their coconut cultivation areas and registering planting area codes to meet the demands of the global market.

Image: Pixabay

This article was translated from Chinese. Read the original article.