2,000 Durian Containers Stranded in Vietnam Amid Lab Testing Halt

According to Vietnamese media reports, nearly 2,000 containers of fresh durians from Dak Lak province have been stranded at border checkpoints and warehouses owing to the temporary closure of laboratories authorized to conduct export testing for the heavy metal cadmium and the dye auramine O. Some shipments have been held for as long as 10–15 days, and the price of fresh grade A durians stored in warehouses has fallen from over 100,000 Vietnamese dong ($3.80) per kilogram to around 80,000 dong ($3.04) per kilogram. Le Anh Trung, president of the Dak Lak Durian Association, stated that laboratories in charge of pesticide residue testing for durians stopped accepting new samples on Oct. 11 and have not yet released test results for previously submitted batches. As a result, exporters have been unable to obtain safety certificates and have been forced to suspend procurement. Hundreds of durian orchards currently in the harvest season are now facing the risk of fruit falling and ...