After years of negotiations, Vietnamese pomelo will soon be available in the US

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has officially licensed the import of Vietnamese pomelo fruits.

Known as a popular summer citrus fruit in Vietnam, the importation of pomelos into the United States was confirmed on Oct. 17 after five years of negotiations. The news was announced in a meeting between the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Hoang Trung, director of the Plant Protection Department at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Following mango, longan, lychee, dragon fruit, rambutan and star apple, the pomelo will be the seventh Vietnamese fruit to enter the U.S. market.

Although the USDA published the importation of Vietnamese pomelos on Oct. 4, the news was confirmed by a delegation of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to the pomelo growing and packing facility in Ben Tre.

The exportation of the fruit will be achieved via the Plant Protection Department working closely with necessary parties to meet the U.S.’ importation requirements. Trung also added that the pomelo batches exported to the U.S. will be subject to the supervision of the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the Plant Protection Department.

Symbolizing perfection and completeness, the pomelo plays a large role in both Vietnamese cuisine and culture. The pomelo is a refreshing fruit with many nutritional benefits, including high vitamin C content and medicinal uses. The fruit is also a key ingredient in Vietnamese cuisine, specifically che buoi, Vietnam’s signature dessert.

Generating nearly 905,000 tonnes of fruit, Vietnam is expected to heavily contribute to the US’s heavy demand of 12 tonnes of fruit per year. Although 70 percent of this demand is met with domestic production, 30 percent (3.6 million tonnes) is met through importation.

Featured Image via Weird Explorer

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