According to the notification issued by the EU on December 18, because Vietnamese durians do not comply with the EU pesticide residue level regulations, the EU has temporarily increased the proportion of border inspection from 10% to 20% in accordance with Articles 5 and 6 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1793.

In addition, the proportion of Vietnam's dragon fruit, chilli and okra exported to the EU was 30%, 50% and 50% respectively. All three products must be accompanied by pesticide residue analysis results when imported into the EU.

U Chunan, deputy director of the Vietnam National Animal and Plant Health Epidemic and Quarantine Notification and Advisory Office (Vietnam SPS Office), said that many active pesticides had high residues on durian, such as carbendazim, fipronil, Pyrimethil, enyl morpholine, metalaxyl, cyhalothrin and acetamidine.

The maximum residue level (MRL) for these active ingredients is 0.005-0.1 mg/kg. However, the residue levels of Vietnamese durians exported to the EU are as high as 0.021-6.3 mg/kg, many times higher than the allowable residue levels.

The EU regularly reviews importers' compliance with food safety regulations every six months to adjust the frequency of border checks for each product. According to reports, at present, the EU has not transferred these products, including Vietnamese durian, to Appendix II (must present a food safety certificate and accept border inspection), but still remain in Appendix I (no need to present a food safety certificate, border random check ratio of 20%). If included in Appendix II, durians exported to the EU will also require a food safety inspection certificate issued by the competent Vietnamese authority, namely the Plant Protection Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam). The Vietnamese dragon fruit, chili peppers and okra mentioned above are listed in Appendix II.