As we enter 2025, Vietnam’s agricultural exports are showing remarkable growth—reaching USD 8.25 billion in just the first two months, a 50.3% increase over the same period last year. However, behind this impressive growth lie warning signs that can no longer be ignored. Issues once thought to be addressed—such as pesticide residues, post-export inspections, and traceability—are now re-emerging as critical barriers to elevating the reputation of Vietnamese agricultural products on the international stage.
Rising Alerts and Import Refusals from Key Markets
According to data published in Kinh tế & Đô thị on April 6, 2025, within just the first three months of the year:
- Nine Vietnamese fruit and vegetable items were temporarily suspended from customs clearance in China, due to failure to meet phytosanitary and traceability requirements.
- Fourteen warnings were issued by the EU’s Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) related to excessive pesticide residues in fresh Vietnamese produce.
- Several shipments of durian were rejected by Japan and South Korea due to inconsistent quality and incorrect labeling.
- In 2024 alone, the EU issued more than 35 warnings on Vietnamese agricultural shipments, resulting in increased inspection rates or temporary suspensions for certain exporters.
Both the General Department of Customs and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development have issued repeated notices urging producers and exporters to strengthen post-harvest inspection protocols. However, quality control in Vietnam remains fragmented, with weak links and inconsistent standards across the supply chain.
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Why Do Vietnamese Agricultural Exports Keep Facing Quality Alerts?
Agricultural expert Nguyễn Đình Tùng notes, “The biggest challenge is our inability to manage quality from input to output. From cultivation areas to post-harvest processing and storage, risks remain high without strict standardization.”
Key issues include:
- Excessive pesticide residues, stemming from improper application and inadequate pre-harvest intervals.
- Inadequate post-harvest preservation, resulting in spoilage or microbial contamination during storage and transportation.
- Lack of planting area codes and inaccurate traceability information.
- A short-term mindset, where businesses rush to fulfill orders without properly verifying product quality or conducting post-export inspections.
Post-Export Inspection Is No Longer Optional—It’s a Survival Strategy
With export markets tightening food safety regulations—particularly in the EU, US, Japan, and China—requirements for pesticide testing, phytosanitary certificates, freshness, food safety, and full traceability are now mandatory technical barriers.
For instance, the EU has placed Vietnamese produce under a high-risk category, meaning that 100% of shipments are subject to quality checks before customs clearance. This not only increases transportation times and costs but also raises the likelihood of shipment returns and order cancellations.
The concern is further magnified by the fact that while ASEAN peers like Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia already have national-level quality monitoring systems recognized internationally, Vietnam still lacks a modern, independent post-inspection ecosystem.
CASS – A Smart Link in the Quality Chain
Amid these challenges, CASS (Controlled Atmosphere Storage System) emerges as a key component in improving post-harvest quality for Vietnamese agricultural exports. By applying modified atmosphere technology, CASS enables:
- Freshness extension by 2–4 times compared to traditional cold storage
- Spoilage reduction to below 5%
- Chemical-free preservation
- Integrated traceability and real-time monitoring systems
Although CASS alone cannot resolve every challenge across the agricultural value chain, it plays a critical role in building Vietnam’s long-overdue post-inspection ecosystem—one that is essential for securing a place in high-value export markets.
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CÔNG TY TNHH BẢO QUẢN RAU QUẢ CASSS
• Hotline: 0931790829 – 0931780829
• Email: cass@cass.vn
• Website: cass.vn
• Địa chỉ: Lô F5, Đường số 6, KCN Hoà Bình Xã Nhị Thành Huyện Thủ Thừa Tỉnh Long An.
