Vietnamese enterprises are required to pay attention to the new regulations in order to meet their partners’ requirements.
The Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment noted that the new proposed interim import conditions aimed to manage the biosecurity risks associated with Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei (EHP).
These conditions were issued following consultation with relevant agencies at the Animal Biosecurity Advice 2020-A02. Accordingly, all uncooked prawns imported from all countries will be deveined during the processing stage. All shipment seals will continue to be checked during customs clearance in Australia.
The proposed import conditions for uncooked prawns will remain interim while Australia finalises its review of the biosecurity risks of prawns imported into Australia for human consumption. A draft report is expected to be announced in mid-2020.
Notably, the country has also issued a Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Notification to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) SPS Committee to inform its trading partners.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Australia is the seventh largest prawn import market of Vietnam, accounting for 3.8% of total prawn export value. Vietnam's prawn exports to Australia reached about US$127 million in 2019, a year-on-year increase of 10.8%, and US$29.6 million by April 15, 2020.