At a meeting in Hanoi yesterday, head of the Plant Protection Department Hoang Trung said that rambutan was the third kind of Vietnamese fruits after mango and dragon fruits entering the New Zealand’s market.
Eligible enterprises can register to ship the fruit to the new market after the agreement takes effect, he said.
Mr. Trung added that three Vietnamese exporters already registered as exporters of rambutan to New Zealand on the same day.
Director of Agricare Vietnam Dam Quang Thang said that after the signing ceremony, the company would work with its New Zealand counterparts to understand the demand and expand the business into the new market. He expected the first containers of the fruit would arrive in New Zealand in a shortest time.
He added that as of the time, Vietnamese rambutan have entered big markets such as the US, EU and ASEAN while Vietnam has been boosting to finish steps for Australian, Japanese and South Korean markets.
At present, the fruit is grown in 26,000 hectare with productivity of 15 tons per hectare, Mr. Trung said, accordingly, Vietnam can export 400,000 tons of rambutan annually, meeting both local and export demand.
Also, Mr. Trung said the most important that once Vietnamese products can enter the New Zealand market which requires strict quality standards and techniques, its brand name and prestige are able to “conquer” other potential markets in the world with equally tough restrictions.
To be eligible as exporters into New Zealand, enterprises must meet requirements such as making a dossier to register the garden of rambutan, a code number on cultivation method to be granted, control of harmful pests, production as regulated and the use of plant protection medicine.
The qualified irradiation facilities must ensure origin traceability and the treatment of rambutan for export as per requirement.
