The Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources has published a draft report proposing Vietnamese dragon fruit imports be allowed into the country. 

Following a visit to Vietnam's dragon fruit production areas in June this year, Australian authorities believe the product would be safe in pest risk terms from all commercial growing areas provided certain measures are in place.

The draft report includes a range of biosecurity conditions including area freedom, irradiation or vapor heat treatment for fruit flies, as well as visual inspection for mealybugs and remedial action if the pest is detected.

The department will be accepting comments on the matter until Nov. 14, 2016.

In a release, the Australian Embassy in Vietnam said it expected the risk analysis would be completed by the end of this year.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc emphasised the high priority of this market access request during a meeting with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in Vientiane last week.

If access is granted, it is expected that exports to Australia would take place during the peak harvest period between May and September.

The report said production of dragon fruit in Vietnam was mainly in the southern provinces of Binh Thuan, Long An, Tien Giang, Kien Giang, Binh Phuoc, and Tay Ninh, but production had expanded to the northern provinces as well.

A letter from Vietnam's Plant Protection Department (PPD) advised Australian authorities the area under cultivation has expanded to almost 40,000 hectares, up from 25,000 hectares in 2013.

This growing area can yield around 1.1 million metric tons (MT) of fruit per year.

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