Vietnam expects to increase fresh fruit exports to the US and Australia next year following the US government's approval of irradiation as an effective quarantine system.
2015 is the first year Vietnam has exported lychee to the US and Australia, where require strict quarantine regulations on fruits. The north must transfer its lychee crops to the south for irradiation treatment until the new centre for irradiation becomes operational next year.
According to Deputy Head of Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute Cao Dinh Thanh, previously the centre irradiated some agricultural products such as onions, garlic and dried medicinal herbs, but it operated on a small scale.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat assigned the Plant Protection Department and relevant agencies working with the Hanoi Irradiation Centre to set up a plan to upgrade the centre.
Vietnam has 2 irradiation centres in the south approved by the US Department of Agriculture.
Irradiating produce in Hanoi instead of shipping projects south will help ensure product quality, reduce export costs and increase buying prices for farmers' products. Phat said.
Dang Quang Thieu, Director of the Hanoi Irradiation Centre said, the upgrade was expected to cost 30 billion VND, adding that the centre imported the necessary equipment from Italy and the Republic of Korea.
Irradiation is an alternative phytosanitary pest treatment that replaces toxic, outdated methods like toxic chemical fumigation.
2015 is the first year Vietnam has exported lychee to the US and Australia, where require strict quarantine regulations on fruits. The north must transfer its lychee crops to the south for irradiation treatment until the new centre for irradiation becomes operational next year.
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Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat assigned the Plant Protection Department and relevant agencies working with the Hanoi Irradiation Centre to set up a plan to upgrade the centre.
Vietnam has 2 irradiation centres in the south approved by the US Department of Agriculture.
Irradiating produce in Hanoi instead of shipping projects south will help ensure product quality, reduce export costs and increase buying prices for farmers' products. Phat said.
Dang Quang Thieu, Director of the Hanoi Irradiation Centre said, the upgrade was expected to cost 30 billion VND, adding that the centre imported the necessary equipment from Italy and the Republic of Korea.
Irradiation is an alternative phytosanitary pest treatment that replaces toxic, outdated methods like toxic chemical fumigation.
