Mr. Nguyen Quang Hieu, Deputy Director of the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection - Photo: VGP/Do Huong
Today (June 10), Tien Phong newspaper organized a workshop on sustainable development of the durian industry. At the workshop, Mr. Nguyen Quang Hieu, Deputy Director of the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection, Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MARD), said that after signing the protocol on durian export with China, our country's durian export turnover has increased sharply. In 2023, the export value was over 2 billion, in 2024, the export turnover reached over 3.2 billion USD, accounting for 45-47% of the total export turnover of the entire fruit and vegetable industry.
Faced with such an overheated growth, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development held a large conference to warn about the growth and warn of many dangers and risks that this could lead to. Regarding the story of cadmium residue, when Vietnam received the first notification in March 2024, from China, the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection conducted many large-scale and in-depth investigations, in which some areas were found to have high cadmium residue.
Recently, the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection has announced the main causes of cadmium contamination in soil, including: Natural factors including soil and soil factors, plus many cultivated areas that do not have time to rest, causing cadmium contamination in soil. The subjective cause is due to the habit of people using fertilizers in areas more than recommended.
Regarding yellow O, China added regulations on yellow O due to the discovery on durian from Thailand. This substance is often used after harvest. Therefore, to prevent risks from all countries, China applied the same to Vietnam.
Regarding the question of why Thailand reacted quickly while Vietnam reacted slowly. The Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection emphasized: As early as January 9, when China's regulations were implemented, the Department sent a list of inspection laboratories to China for accreditation. On January 17, the accreditation of laboratories in Vietnam and Thailand took place at the same time. In reality, the use of chemicals is due to the request of business units. This is because growers and traders are not fully aware. However, the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection has announced a widespread prohibition, and since then, no further notices have been received regarding this substance.
The Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection is working with people to deal with soil contaminated with Cadmium, but this will take a long time.
Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen, General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, shared that according to statistics from the Customs Department, in the first 4 months of 2025, the total value of exported durian products reached 183 million USD, down 61% compared to the same period last year. The decline of this "king of fruits" has led to a decline in the fruit and vegetable industry.
From the main cause of Cadmium contamination identified by professional agencies and experts, Mr. Nguyen said that the farming process of chasing productivity and lacking input control has unintentionally introduced "poison" into the production chain.
In the face of the urgent situation, Mr. Nguyen said that there should be strong enough regulations and sanctions to handle violations of food quality, safety and commercial fraud. The identities of violating businesses and individuals should be made public to create deterrence and build a healthy business environment.
In the long term, it is necessary to plan concentrated and sustainable growing areas, control the situation of massive and spontaneous development leading to disruption of planning and the risk of oversupply. Tighten management and issue codes for growing areas and packaging facilities, which are considered "passports" for Vietnamese durian. Localities need to strengthen monitoring, regular and surprise inspections of compliance with regulations in the issued codes.
At the same time, strictly control input materials through increased inspection and prevention of the introduction of fertilizers or pesticides containing Cadmium and O-yellow to the market. In the near future, China may put other products under Cadmium and O-yellow screening, so farmers should be advised to use fertilizers and pesticides of clear origin.
Raising awareness of protecting growing area codes
Mr. Phan Van Duy, Deputy Director of the Department of Quality, Processing and Market Development, Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, acknowledged that our production and quality control capacity is still weak and not synchronized. "After China increased its quality control requirements, we reviewed and granted certificates to businesses and facilities that are qualified to export. As a result, up to now, 34 facilities have been certified for Cadmium testing; 19 facilities have been certified for O gold testing. Of which, China has recognized 24 facilities for Cadmium and 15 facilities for O gold. However, 4 facilities were eliminated by China due to differences between the testing results in Vietnam and the testing results when the goods arrived. This is an existing risk," said Mr. Duy.
Mr. Duy also analyzed that the reason is that the sampling is only representative, while in reality the growing area is very large, it is impossible to absolutely ensure that all products meet the standards. "We recommend that localities and related units need to coordinate more closely, especially control right from the beginning of the production chain... Regarding some issues such as the purchase and use of pesticides, we affirm that this is not only a problem of the testing agency but also related to the general management responsibility and awareness of the people. Some substances such as diquat and paraquat are currently not used in many countries but there are still traces in our products".
With many years of experience in agricultural business in many markets, the main market being China, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuc - Chairwoman of the Board of Directors and General Director of Auto Agri Software Technology Joint Stock Company, said that the current criteria for Cadmium or yellow O are just one of thousands of technical criteria that import markets can offer.
According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuc, the two main units that have control tools in hand when issuing "visas" for export shipments are customs and plant protection. The Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection alone is the unit that issues Plant Quarantine Certificates and manages growing area codes. Therefore, it is necessary to raise awareness of protecting growing area codes of growers to avoid unnecessary risks. In addition, the key durian growing area in the Central Highlands needs investment in technology: microbiology, post-harvest preservation and processing to build a sustainable industry.
Also at the workshop, Mr. Nguyen Do Dung, General Director of Enfarm Agricultural Technology Company, said that if we know which areas are at high risk of contamination, we need to quickly improve the soil to limit Cadmium contamination of trees and fruits. Through the company's inspection, it was shown that up to 70% of gardens were contaminated with Cadmium due to excess phosphate fertilizer, 50% of gardens were fertilized twice as much as needed, and some gardens were fertilized many times more than needed.
Mr. Nguyen Do Dung also said that the company has created a map of land at risk of cadmium contamination, which will help reduce 70% of product sample testing. The company is also supporting free testing of cadmium contaminated soil, and providing advice and guidance on land improvement.
Do Huong
Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/phat-trien-sau-rieng-ben-vung-tu-giam-sat-san-xuat-che-bien-102250610160741161.htm
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