(Illustrative photo)

The EU recently introduced a draft regulation to lower the Maximum Residue Level (MRL) for four pesticide active substances starting next February.

A representative of the Office of the Vietnam Sanitary and Phytosanitary Notification Authority and Enquiry Point said multiple MRL levels have been reduced which will affect Vietnamese products exported to Europe.

The Office’s Director Ngo Xuan Nam said: “Households, cooperatives, businesses, and other producers should monitor changes in market regulations. One of the main requirements of agricultural product export is to meet market standards and regulations. If we can’t meet regulations, we’ll receive a violation warning. This will harm the reputation of Vietnamese businesses.”

Luong Ngoc Quang of the Plant Protection Department at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said: “EU countries frequently review and revise their regulations, so before exporting goods, enterprises should access an information portal to get the latest information.”

Businesses should update their information frequently and adjust their production plans accordingly. Growing areas, breeding areas, packaging and processing facilities, associations, industries, management agencies, and localities should collaborate on management of food safety and quality standards from input materials to exports. Vietnamese agricultural enterprises are scrambling to meet EU market requirements.

Nguyen Trong Trung Dung, Deputy General Director of the Yasaka Fruit Processing Company, which exports mangos to the Netherlands, said: “We instruct farmers to use organic fertilizers instead of chemical and other inorganic fertilizers. We are following a roadmap to meet the quality standards of importers.”

The EU will apply the adjusted MRLs next February. Vietnamese enterprises have studied these changes and are modifying production plans and building links to produce clean products that will meet the new standards of EU and other markets.