Vietnamese shippers fear that produce exports to China could fall and their incomes suffer in the wake of new and tougher Chinese import quality controls, reports thanhniennews.com

From July 1, fresh fruits like watermelon, longan, lychee, banana and dragon fruit can only be exported to China from registered orchards and packaging factories.

Exporters – many of whom rely on the Chinese market - are worried the new rules will hurt trade, since fruit prices could fall and stockpiles grow if China reduces imports.

China is the largest market for Vietnam’s agricultural exports, last year importing produce worth US$1.9 billion, mainly latex, cashew, cassava, coffee, fruits and vegetables.

Nguyen Duc Thanh, acting president of the Vietnam Cashew Association, said China buys around 22 per cent of the cashew Vietnam exports, but warned exporters not to depend too much on this market since its policies are constantly changing.

Instead, cashew exporters need to increase their shipments to other markets like the Middle East, the EU and Russia, he suggested.

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