The Office of the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has agreed to send a team of experts to Vietnam in order to examine and quarantine fresh fruit export shipments to the United States, according to Nguyen Quang Hieu, head of Plant Protection Department.

Hieu explained that the department is seeking a way in which to bring the US experts to the country, although they are facing several difficulties relating to boarding procedures.

Furthermore, Hieu added that although the department had all relevant information about the passports and visas of the US experts, there are currently no commercial flights running between the two countries.

This comes after APHIS experts were forced to return home in March due to the novel coronavirus, therefore significantly affecting the export of fresh fruits to the US in a negative manner.

Moreover, a team of Japanese experts were also due to arrive in the country in mid-April in order to examine and supervise phytosanitary measures for lychees destined for the Northeast Asian market. However, the impact of the epidemic forced the experts to re-schedule their trip to early June instead.

After undergoing a 14-day quarantine period, the Japanese experts were able to begin their work on supervising phytosanitary measures and treatment for each batch of fresh lychees. 

Most notably, June 19 marked the first time that fresh Vietnamese lychees were exported to Japan by air.