Many Vietnamese agricultural products are now facing stricter EU food-safety rules, requiring businesses to respond quickly and overcome new trade barriers to maintain sustainable exports.
Stricter EU Food-Safety Regulations
According to Trần Thanh Hải, Deputy Director General of the Import-Export Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), the EU remains a key export market for Vietnam. After four years of the EVFTA free trade agreement, total export turnover to the EU has reached an estimated USD 200 billion, with annual growth of 12–15%. Vietnam consistently records a trade surplus with the EU.
Since early 2024, however, Vietnam has seen an unusual surge in EU food-safety alerts. There are now 57 pesticide active ingredients under close EU monitoring—an increase of more than 80% from a year earlier—prompting EU border authorities to intensify checks on Vietnamese farm exports.
Four key Vietnamese exports are currently subject to higher inspection rates: dragon fruit (30% of shipments checked), chili peppers (50%), okra (50%), and durian (10%).
The EU has also proposed significant changes to maximum residue limits (MRLs). For example, the permitted MRL for the fungicide Zoxamide on lettuce, spinach, and other leafy greens would drop from 30 ppm to just 0.01 ppm—a 3,000-fold cut—while the MRL for tomatoes would actually rise from 0.5 ppm to 2 ppm. Zoxamide is a fungicide used to control blights on potatoes and tomatoes by inhibiting cell division.
Moreover, the EU intends to tighten limits on Fenbuconazole and Penconazole to 0.01 ppm for citrus fruits, nuts (including cashews and macadamias), rice and okra; and on coffee, pepper and honey to 0.05 ppm. For Acetamiprid, limits will fall sharply—for example, from 0.4 ppm to 0.01 ppm in bananas, from 0.3 ppm to 0.09 ppm in sweet peppers, and from 0.5 ppm to 0.06 ppm in tomatoes.
The Need for Rapid Response
Vietnam’s SPS Office has urged agencies such as the Plant Protection Department, the Department of Animal Health, and relevant industry associations to study these changes and alert producers to keep residues within the EU’s new limits.
Despite past incidents—for example, an entire category of Vietnamese chili peppers was subjected to 50% border checks after just one 40 kg shipment failed standards—many exporters still fail to fully comply with importers’ rules. Farmers often follow traditional practices without careful plans for pesticide, antibiotic or fertilizer use. Oversight of farm codes and packing facilities remains weak, and domestic penalties for food-safety violations are not yet strong enough.
As Mr. Hải warned, this “alarming rate of violations” demands stronger action from regulators, local authorities, exporters and producers alike.
Hải added that the EU is not alone: many import markets—especially those with free trade agreements—are likely to impose increasingly strict non-tariff barriers to protect their domestic agriculture.
Therefore, Vietnamese producers and exporters must thoroughly understand each market’s food-safety rules and integrate them into planting, processing and storage practices to ensure compliance. This is the only way to keep agricultural exports to the EU both smooth and sustainable.
Ngô Xuân Nam, Deputy Director of the SPS Vietnam Office, emphasized that pesticide-residue regulations are complex and vary by country and by chemical. Farmers and businesses need deeper technical knowledge and strong quality-control systems to meet EU requirements.
The EU plans to implement the new MRL standards in February 2025, giving Vietnamese exporters only about six months to adjust production and ensure compliance with the four key substances. The EU also reviews and strengthens import inspections every six months. Without timely action, Vietnam’s agricultural and seafood exports could face intensified border checks, slowing shipments and undermining competitiveness in the global market.