A European Commission (EC) official has warned that Vietnam’s dragon fruit and okra exports risk being suspended from the EU market if nothing is done to reduce pesticide residues.

The warning was released by Coulon Sylvie, a senior expert at the EC’s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE), at a conference co-hosted by the Vietnam Sanitary and Phytosanitary Notification Authority and Enquiry Point (Vietnam SPS Office) in coordination with DG SANTE in Hanoi on Tuesday.

The conference focused on disseminating regulations on the conditions for plant- and animal-derived agricultural products and foods to be imported into the EU. 

Speaking at the event, Sylvie said that the EU is applying Regulation 2019/1973 on temporarily strengthening official control measures and special conditions for a number of non-animal origin foods and feed being exported to the bloc from some countries, including Vietnam.

She stated that dragon fruit and okra exports from Vietnam to the EU are now governed by Annex 2 of the Regulation, which specifies goods subject to special conditions for entry into the union due to contamination risks from mycotoxins such as aflatoxins, pesticide residues, pentachlorophenol, dioxins, and microbacteria.

Currently, both dragon fruit and okra are subject to inspection frequency rates of 20 percent and 50 percent, respectively, but these rates may be higher when Annex 2 is updated in July this year, the official cautioned. 

Sylvie commented that while these fruits are highly sought after in the European market, the concern lies in their elevated levels of pesticide residues.

The EC official advised that Vietnam strengthen inspections on its dragon fruit and okra shipments before they are exported to the EU market. 

If improvements are not made to reduce pesticide residues in these products, they will be moved to Annex 2A, which lists food and feed from certain third countries subject to suspension of entry into the EU, Sylvie warned. 

Sylvie also said that the EU reviews and updates the list of products in the annexes every six months.

Cases that carry urgent risks or serious repeated non-compliance issues will face the application of serious EU safety measures, she stated. 

These measures may include temporary suspension from the EU market, Sylvie warned.

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