Horticulture: fruit, vegetables and flowers: the export figures, growing-area and packing-house codes under Decree No. 38/2026/ND-CP and Resolution No. 36/2026/NQ-CP, the China protocols and GACC registration, durian testing for cadmium and auramine O, US irradiation, EU residue checks and plant health, Japan, Korea and Australia, VietGAP and organic rules, flowers and greenhouses in Lam Dong, and the investment models, with a worked packhouse example

The horticulture sector in figures

Horticulture (fruit, vegetables, flowers and ornamental plants) is the fastest-growing part of Vietnam's agricultural export trade. The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MAE) reported fruit and vegetable exports of USD 8.56 billion in 2025, a record and nearly 20% above 2024, within agricultural, forestry and fishery exports of USD 70.09 billion. For January to September 2026 MAE figures show about USD 7.35 billion, up 19.9%, and the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association (Vinafruit) projects USD 9 billion to USD 10 billion for 2026. Sector-wide figures are in Agricultural legal framework and regulators.

Durian dominates: about USD 3.86 billion in 2025 on Vinafruit figures, some 45% of the total, and USD 2.27 billion in the first eight months of 2026, up 47.8%, from more than 150,000 hectares led by Lam Dong, Dak Lak and Dong Thap. Coconut (nearly USD 534 million in 2025), dragon fruit (nearly USD 526 million) and banana (about USD 419 million) follow, then mango, jackfruit, pomelo, passion fruit, longan, lychee and chilli. China took about 64% of the trade in 2025 and 63% in 2026 to September, the United States about 7% and Korea about 3.8%. The legal consequence is that market access is negotiated product by product, market by market and, in protocol markets, orchard by orchard: an orchard approved for China is not thereby approved for Korea, and a packhouse that loses its China approval may still ship to the EU.

Who regulates horticultural exports

The statutory base is Law No. 31/2018/QH14 on Crop Production and Law No. 41/2013/QH13 on Plant Protection and Quarantine, both amended by Law No. 146/2025/QH15, which amended fifteen agriculture and environment laws and took effect on 1 January 2026. Article 64 of the crop law, as amended, is the basis for growing-area and packing-house codes; the quarantine law governs the phytosanitary certificate. Inputs and the general plant quarantine procedure are explained in Seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and plant quarantine.

The MAE's Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection (Cục Trồng trọt và Bảo vệ thực vật) negotiates protocols, forwards code lists to importing countries, receives their non-compliance notices and, through its regional plant quarantine offices, issues phytosanitary certificates. Codes are issued locally, now by the commune People's Committee, with a provincial agency as focal point. Food safety for processed products is covered in Agro-processing, food safety, cooperatives and contract farming.

No sector licence is needed to grow fruit, vegetables or flowers or to run a packing house. A foreign investor's constraints are land (Agricultural land and land accumulation; FAQ 48), the Investment Registration Certificate (IRC), preceded by investment policy approval where the State leases the land (Investment policy approval), and the registration of export rights as a business line. Exporting purchased produce does not in general need the business licence that Decree No. 09/2018/ND-CP, replaced by Decree No. 342/2026/ND-CP from 18 October 2026, requires for wholesale and retail distribution, but selling through the company's own domestic distribution does (FAQ 95).

Growing-area codes and packing-house codes

A growing-area code identifies a place where one crop is produced under one production process with uniform natural conditions; a packing-house code identifies a site where crop products are sorted, pre-processed, packed and stored (Article 3 of Decree No. 38/2026/ND-CP of 24 January 2026). Protocol markets, above all China but also the United States, Korea, Australia and Japan, accept only produce traced to approved codes. The code is both the unit of market access and the unit of sanction: a border finding is traced to the orchard and packhouse, and their codes are suspended for that market.

Article 6 of the decree requires a growing area of at least 10 hectares for perennial crops (unless the importing country sets another figure), a production process issued or endorsed by the plant protection authority, and production and harvest records. Article 7 requires a packing house to have a one-way layout with separate zones, power, clean water and drainage; equipment for receiving, sorting, packing and storage; a packing procedure and pest control; and records of origin, packing, sales, pest control, hygiene, training and chemical use. Export areas and facilities must also meet the importing country's quarantine and food safety rules. Under Article 9 a code reads province code, PUC or PHC, crop identifier and five-digit serial number.

Resolution No. 36/2026/NQ-CP of 31 July 2026, issued to clear the bottleneck before the Central Highlands durian harvest, applies until a decree amending Decree No. 38/2026/ND-CP takes effect. It suspends, among other provisions, the 10-hectare minimum, the Article 8 procedure and most forms. Applications go online through the National Public Service Portal to the commune People's Committee, on the principle of self-declaration; plots are identified by their national land database identifier, and a code neither creates nor replaces land use rights. If no code-requiring market is named, the commune issues the code within 3 working days and post-inspects within three months; if one is, it inspects and decides within 10 working days, the province sends the list to the MAE within 3 working days and the MAE forwards it to the importing country within 3 working days or on that country's timetable. Markets can be added without a new code. The importing country's own requirements still prevail (Article 5(7)), so an area too small for a protocol market may still be refused there.

Holders must self-monitor before every harvest (growing areas) or at least yearly (packing houses) (Article 10). A code is suspended if a requirement lapses, the holder fails to self-monitor or cooperate, or a quarantine or food safety violation is notified, and the holder must report corrective action within 60 days (Article 11). It is revoked for banned chemicals or pesticides not on Vietnam's permitted list, forged documents, a change of crop or land use, or failure to remedy within 60 days (Article 12). Suspension and revocation operate market by market, and re-application for a market is barred for 12 months after revocation. A packing house may pack for a code-requiring market only fruit from coded areas (Article 16(4)). Codes issued before 24 January 2026 remain valid until 24 January 2027 and must be converted (Article 19). On figures reported in July 2026, Vietnam had 9,546 growing-area and 1,525 packing-house export codes at May 2026, of which China had approved 4,323 and 1,332.

China: protocols, GACC registration and durian testing

China admits fresh Vietnamese fruit under phytosanitary protocols between the MAE and the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC): fresh durian (2022); frozen durian and fresh coconut (19 August 2024); banana, sweet potato, mangosteen and watermelon; chilli and passion fruit (15 April 2025); jackfruit, whose protocol rules apply from 1 June 2026 under GACC Announcement No. 251 of 2025; and pomelo and lime, signed on 15 April 2026, for which Vietnam had submitted 221 growing-area codes and 63 packing facilities by August 2026. Dragon fruit, mango, longan, lychee and rambutan are long-standing exports under older arrangements. Oranges, mandarins, custard apple and avocado awaited protocols in August 2026.

The jackfruit rules show the pattern: orchards and packhouses registered with the MAE and listed by GACC; good agricultural practice and integrated pest management; year-round pest monitoring consistent with ISPM 6; hygienic packhouses that sort out damaged fruit and remove soil and debris; clean new packaging and ISPM 15 wood; Vietnamese pre-export sampling of 2% of lots (1% after a clean year); and Chinese inspection at entry, with return or destruction of non-compliant lots. Pomelo adds bagging at least 60 days before harvest.

Producer registration is separate. GACC Decree No. 280, published on 14 October 2025, replaced Decree No. 248 on 1 June 2026. Seventeen categories, including dried fruits, dehydrated vegetables and nuts, need inspection and recommendation by the exporting country's authority; other foods self-register online; registrations last five years and mostly renew automatically. Fresh vegetables left the Decree No. 280 lists and fall under GACC Announcement No. 219 of 2025, in force on 15 December 2025, which requires Chinese importers to declare the registration number of overseas enterprises for catalogued agricultural products. For fresh fruit the operative approval remains GACC's listing of the orchard and packhouse under the protocol.

Durian also faces a testing regime. China detected cadmium in Vietnamese and Thai durian from early 2024 and, from 10 January 2025, required certification that durian was free of auramine O, a banned yellow dye, so each consignment now needs results from a laboratory China recognises. Containers were stranded in early 2025; in May 2025 China revoked about 55 growing-area and 61 packing-house codes, and on 21 May 2025 approved 829 and 131 more; a laboratory shutdown in October 2025 halted clearance for about a week. About 50 recognised laboratories were reported in August 2026, none in the Central Highlands. Cadmium is partly a soil and fertiliser problem (Seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and plant quarantine). The MAE's agricultural product traceability system began operating on 1 July 2026.

The United States, Japan, Korea and Australia

United States. APHIS admits fresh fruit commodity by commodity under 7 CFR 319.56, and Vietnam has access for dragon fruit, rambutan, longan, lychee, star apple, mango and pomelo. These are generally irradiated in Vietnam at an APHIS-certified facility under 7 CFR Part 305, which sets a generic dose of 400 Gy for most insect pests (the 2022 pomelo work plan sets 150 Gy), after joint inspection by the Vietnamese authority and APHIS; cartons carry the orchard, packhouse and treatment-facility codes and the radura symbol. By July 2026 a plant in Tay Ninh had become the first approved for both gamma and X-ray treatment. Vapour heat treatment is not accepted for dragon fruit, and passion fruit access was expected during 2026. Residues must meet EPA tolerances, and importers are subject to FDA supplier verification and prior notice. US tariffs have changed repeatedly, including after the Supreme Court decision of 20 February 2026 on emergency tariff powers, and should be checked at shipment (Rice, coffee and key commodity exports).

Japan admits dragon fruit (with vapour heat treatment), mango and lychee; longan is under negotiation and pomelo trials were under way in 2026. Korea admits dragon fruit, mango and, since 2024, pomelo, which needs vapour heat treatment at a registered facility (core 47°C for 20 minutes or 46.5°C for 40 minutes), annual orchard and packhouse registration, fortnightly orchard monitoring and joint inspection of at least 2% of cartons. Both countries apply positive-list residue systems with a 0.01 ppm default. Australia admits dragon fruit, lychee, longan, mango, passion fruit and, since 9 October 2025, pomelo, which must come from coded orchards and packhouses, be free of 19 listed pests and be irradiated. New Zealand admits several fruits, and in 2026 agreed in principle on cut flowers.

The European Union: residues, increased checks and plant health

The EU requires no growing-area codes. Under Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072, fresh fruit and vegetables need a phytosanitary certificate, except pineapple, coconut, durian, banana and dates, and hosts of regulated pests such as non-European fruit flies meet special requirements.

Residue limits under Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 default to 0.01 mg/kg, so a pesticide lawful in Vietnam may still bar produce from the EU. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1793, most recently amended by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1206 of 9 June 2026 (in force 30 June 2026), places Vietnamese durian in Annex I, with identity and physical checks on 20% of consignments for pesticide residues, and okra (50%), dragon fruit (30%) and chilli peppers (50%) in Annex II, so each consignment also needs an official certificate with sampling and analysis results. Checks are at the importer's cost, and the lists are reviewed regularly. Organic imports need certification under Regulation (EU) 2018/848 and an electronic certificate of inspection; EVFTA tariffs are in Rice, coffee and key commodity exports.

Standards that buyers require: VietGAP, GLOBALG.A.P. and organic

VietGAP, national standard TCVN 11892-1:2017 (under revision in 2025), is voluntary and certified by registered bodies, but VietGAP or an equivalent is in practice how an orchard shows the production process, records and pest management that codes and protocols demand. GLOBALG.A.P. is the usual requirement of EU and many Asian retailers. Neither replaces a code or a phytosanitary certificate.

Organic production is governed by Decree No. 109/2018/ND-CP of 29 August 2018, for which we found no replacement at 16 October 2026. Producers apply the national organic standard, or a foreign standard for exports; certificates from registered bodies last two years; the Vietnamese organic logo requires at least 95% certified organic ingredients; and Article 17 funds the survey and testing of eligible production areas and a one-off payment of certification costs for small producers. Each export market's organic scheme applies separately.

Flowers, greenhouses and the Lam Dong high-tech cluster

Flowers centre on Da Lat in Lam Dong, which since the July 2025 mergers includes the former Dak Nong and Binh Thuan. Its roughly 10,800 hectares of flowers produce more than 4.4 billion stems a year, but in 2024 only about 494 million stems (some 11%) were exported, to 23 markets. Targets for 2030 include exports above USD 217 million and at least five high-tech flower zones of more than 2,500 hectares. Protected varieties carry royalties (Seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and plant quarantine).

Article 4(7) of Decree No. 102/2024/ND-CP classes as other agricultural land land for nurseries, flowers and ornamentals, for greenhouses and other structures serving cultivation (including cultivation not on the soil), and for farm storage of produce, inputs and machinery. Greenhouses therefore need no change of land use, but a commercial packing and cold-storage plant serving many growers may need non-agricultural land, which should be confirmed with the province before the site is chosen.

Imported mother plants need a quarantine import permit (Article 28 of the quarantine law) and, for a species new to Vietnam, a pest risk analysis (Article 27). Plants with soil or growing media may enter only through border gates the MAE publishes and are held in quarantine isolation for three months (Articles 4 and 5 of Decree No. 38/2026/ND-CP). High-tech agriculture incentives are in Investment incentives and high-tech agriculture.

Investment models for a foreign horticulture investor

In an estate model the investor grows the fruit on land leased from the State for an approved project, contributed as capital by a Vietnamese partner, or held by an acquired company, since a company more than 50% foreign-owned cannot take transfers of agricultural land from households. It then controls the code and every input, which matters when one residue finding can close a market. In a contract farming model, dominant for durian, pomelo and dragon fruit, the investor buys from cooperatives and households under linkage contracts, often supplying seedlings, inputs and supervision for exclusive offtake. The codes are then usually held by the cooperative or household group, so the contract must settle who applies for and controls them, who pays for testing and who bears a rejected consignment (Agro-processing, food safety, cooperatives and contract farming).

A packhouse and cold chain puts the investor at the regulatory hub, since the packing-house code, treatment, testing and phytosanitary certification all pass through it. Processing (frozen durian, dried fruit, puree, coconut products) adds Vietnamese food safety certification and Chinese registration under Decree No. 280, is less exposed to border congestion, and is more likely to attract incentives (FAQ 34) and duty-free import of equipment (FAQ 37).

From orchard to an approved export code (protocol market)

1. Organise the areaMap plots by land-parcel identifier, decide who holds the code and sign linkage contracts covering codes, inputs and testing.
2. Set up productionAdopt an endorsed production process, VietGAP or equivalent, pest management and records; use only permitted pesticides within the market's limits.
3. Apply onlineFile with the commune People's Committee through the National Public Service Portal, naming the markets.
4. Inspection and noticeCode notice within 10 working days for a code-requiring market, otherwise 3, with post-inspection within three months.
5. Importing-country approvalProvince to MAE within 3 working days, MAE onward within 3; supply only after the market lists the code.
6. Run the seasonSelf-monitor before harvest, pack only coded fruit, test where required and obtain a phytosanitary certificate per consignment.
7. Handle suspensionReport corrective action within 60 days or face revocation and a 12-month bar for that market.