Australian authorities will soon allow the import of fresh Vietnamese dragon fruit into the country, the Australian Embassy in Vietnam said on Tuesday.

The Australian Embassy in Vietnam issued a press release on Tuesday announcing that Vietnam’s fresh dragon fruits would soon be allowed onto the Australian market as the country’s government finalizes its risk evaluation on the produce.

The evaluation process is expected to finish by the end of 2016 and the first shipments of fresh dragon fruit from Vietnam are hoped to reach Australian shores by 2017, according to the announcement.

The Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources has finished its draft on dragon fruit imports from Vietnam, and a 60-day waiting period for feedback and discussion is applicable now before the final step is taken by the Australian Government.

According to the draft, Australia will allow fresh imports from all dragon fruit-growing regions in Vietnam, as long as the fruit meet the country’s biological safety standards.

A group of Australian experts and inspectors visited dragon fruit farms in Vietnam in June for a first-hand evaluation.

If the Australian Government goes through with the plan, Vietnamese dragon fruits will be the country’s second major tropical fruit export, after lychees, to enter the Australian market.

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