Vietnam gets green light to export fresh husked coconut to US

APHIS has sent a letter to the Plant Protection Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) regarding the U.S.’ opening of coconut imports from Vietnam.

In its August 8 letter, APHIS underlined the importance of market opening for the Vietnamese coconut, expressing its willingness to give top priority to comply with the requests made by the Vietnamese side.

APHIS completed updating the online database of agricultural goods import requirements (ACIR) to allow the import of young coconuts from Vietnam, having a minimum of 75% (3/4) of the coir removed and the outer green shell completely extracted.

According to APHIS, Vietnamese producers are eligible to commence the export of husked coconuts to the U.S. immediately.

In April this year, in a meeting with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack, Vietnamese Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan said Vietnam has opened its doors to grapefruits from the U.S., while proposed to the U.S. to accelerate the evaluation process and opening for Vietnamese coconuts and passion fruits.

Last year, Vietnam earned $900 million from coconut exports. Vietnam's coconut industry currently has nearly 90 products offered in the market. Besides, there are nearly 200 food products using coconut ingredients.