Vietnam to halt imports of five agro-products from India - govt

A vendor sells peanuts at the Voi market, south of Hanoi in a file photo. Photo by Reuters/Kham

Tons of agricultural products from India were found having been contaminated with live insects last year.

Vietnam will suspend the import of five agricultural commodities from India due to concerns over infectious insects, the Vietnamese government said Wednesday.

Under a directive signed by Vietnam’s agriculture ministry, the import of peanuts, cassia alata seeds, cocoa beans, French bean seeds and tamarind from India will be halted in 60 days starting March 1, the government said in a statement on its news website.

The decision was made after Vietnamese authorities discovered live insects in more than 3,000 tons of peanuts, 24 tons of cassia alata seeds bought from India last year and also earlier in 2017, the statement said.

The five products are likely to be contaminated with insect Caryedon serratus Olivier, commonly known as peanut beetle, which is subject to Vietnam’s plant quarantine, the statement said.

The ministry has urged its Plant Protection Department to closely monitor previous imports of the five commodities and notify India of the decision.

In early 2015 Vietnam already suspended the import of India's peanuts due to a similar infection.