The first question when considering MD2 pineapple exports is not price but whether fresh Vietnamese pineapple is permitted to enter the target market at all. As of October 2026, the official list kept by the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection on importing countries’ phytosanitary conditions does not include pineapple for any market. This article sets out which markets are open and which are not, the commercial quality standards for fresh fruit, and why processed pineapple is the more realistic route in the short term.
Key points
- Fresh Vietnamese pineapple is not yet permitted into the United States, China or Australia. For Japan and South Korea there is no written confirmation, although trade data show some small shipments.
- The EU does not require a dedicated protocol; pineapple has no specific marketing standard and falls under the general marketing standard, which sets no Brix threshold.
- Codex sets a minimum of 12 °Brix for fresh pineapple, fruit from 700 g, in three classes; EU buyers typically target 13–17 °Brix.
- The largest pineapple importers are the United States (1.21 million tonnes in 2024), the EU (0.80 million tonnes) and China (0.24 million tonnes); Costa Rica accounts for about 87% of US and EU imports.
Which markets are open to fresh Vietnamese pineapple
| Market | Fresh Vietnamese pineapple | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| United States | Not permitted | The Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection list (August 2026) for the United States covers coconut, mango, star apple, dragon fruit, rambutan, longan and lychee; pineapple is not included. There is no APHIS document on Vietnamese pineapple in the Federal Register. |
| China | Not permitted | The list for China does not include pineapple; China imports pineapple from 10 countries, including the Philippines, Costa Rica, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. |
| Australia | Not permitted | Australia only allows imports of fresh de-crowned pineapple from the Philippines, the Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand. |
| Japan, South Korea | No written confirmation | UN Comtrade 2024 data record Japan importing 74 tonnes and South Korea 174 tonnes of pineapple (code 0804.30) from Vietnam at a unit value of about USD 1.1–1.3/kg; no document from either country’s plant quarantine authority has been found. |
| EU | No dedicated protocol required | The general marketing standard applies under Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2429. |
A caution when reading the data: HS code 0804.30 combines fresh and dried pineapple. Figures showing “Vietnam exporting pineapple to the US and Australia” in 2024 carry unit values of USD 7–13/kg, many times that of fresh pineapple, so they are most likely dried pineapple. These figures cannot be used to claim that fresh Vietnamese pineapple has entered those two markets. In addition, the document titled “Dua_Hoa Ky” on the Department’s website concerns coconut, not pineapple.
The world pineapple market
According to FAO (Major Tropical Fruits Market Review, preliminary results 2025), world pineapple imports in 2024 were about 3.10 million tonnes. The United States imported 1.21 million tonnes, the EU 0.80 million tonnes, China 0.24 million tonnes, Japan 0.16 million tonnes and South Korea 0.08 million tonnes; the UAE and Saudi Arabia each took about 20,000–28,000 tonnes. China’s imports rose by about 9% in 2025, partly due to demand for premium pineapple, “especially MD2 from the Philippines”.
Supply is highly concentrated: according to UN Comtrade 2024 data, Costa Rica accounts for 87.8% of the value of US pineapple imports and 87.1% of the value of EU extra-EU imports; the Philippines accounts for 80% in Japan and almost 99% in South Korea and China. Vietnam does not appear in FAO’s table of pineapple exporting countries. See the article on the major MD2 growing countries and Vietnam’s position.
Commercial quality standards for fresh pineapple
Codex CXS 182-1993 (Standard for Pineapples) applies to fresh pineapple sold to consumers and does not apply to pineapple intended for industrial processing:
- Minimum requirements: fruit whole, sound, clean, free from internal browning and from damage caused by temperature; peduncle no longer than 2.0 cm; fruit physiologically ripe.
- Ripeness: the soluble solids content of the flesh must be at least 12 °Brix, measured on a juice sample representative of the whole fruit.
- Three classes, Extra, I and II; in Extra class the crown is 50–150% of the fruit length; skin defects are limited to 4% of the surface area in Class I and 8% in Class II.
- Minimum fruit weight 700 g (250 g for small-fruited varieties), size codes from A (about 2.75 kg with crown) to H (about 0.8 kg).
- Carton labelling: exporter, packer, country of origin, class, size, and a clear statement if the fruit is without crown.
EU: under Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2429 (consolidated version of 4 October 2025), only 11 groups of fruit and vegetables have specific marketing standards; pineapple is not among them, so the general marketing standard applies: intact, sound, clean, satisfactory ripeness, a 10% tolerance (no more than 2% rotten), and a label stating the full name of the country of origin. EU law sets no Brix threshold for pineapple; produce meeting the corresponding UNECE standard is deemed compliant. Produce clearly labelled “intended for processing” and actually used for processing is exempt from the marketing standard.
EU buyer requirements (CBI, 2022): minimum 12 °Brix, typically targeting 13–17 °Brix; fruit of 1–2.5 kg, mainly Extra or Class I; cartons of about 12 kg holding 5–10 fruit; the certifications most often requested are GlobalG.A.P. for farms and BRCGS or IFS for packhouses. From 19 August 2026, the EU maximum residue level for ethephon on pineapple is 1.5 mg/kg (Commission Regulation (EU) 2026/215). See the article on MD2 pineapple sweetness (°Brix).
The realistic route: processed pineapple
While fresh pineapple is still awaiting market access in many destinations, processed pineapple (frozen, canned, juice, concentrate) does not need a fresh-fruit phytosanitary protocol. According to Comtrade data, in 2025 Vietnam accounted for 12.2% of the value of Japan’s imports of pineapple juice above 20 Brix and 2.7% of processed pineapple (HS 2008.20) imported into the United States. In the United States, frozen pineapple, canned pineapple and pineapple juice concentrated more than 3.5 times are exempt from the additional 12.5% Section 301 duty applied to Vietnamese goods from 24 July 2026. See the pillar article on pineapple juice exports and MD2 growing areas and the article on exporting MD2 pineapple to the US.
What companies should do
AgrifoodV recommendations:
- Before investing in an MD2 growing area for fresh fruit, confirm with the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection and with the importer that the target market is open to fresh Vietnamese pineapple; do not rely on combined HS code data.
- For the EU: prepare documentation against the general marketing standard, Codex and buyer requirements (Brix, size, skin colour, certification), together with a residue control plan.
- Design the raw-material growing area to also supply a processing plant, reducing dependence on fresh-fruit market access.
AgrifoodV supports companies in assessing markets, access conditions and export documentation.
References
- Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection. Một số quy định của các nước nhập khẩu về kiểm dịch thực vật đối với hàng hóa có nguồn gốc thực vật từ Việt Nam [Selected phytosanitary regulations of importing countries for goods of plant origin from Vietnam], updated 3 August 2026. ppd.gov.vn.
- FAO. Major Tropical Fruits Market Review – Preliminary results 2025, 2026. fao.org.
- United Nations. UN Comtrade, HS 0804.30 data for 2024 (API query of 17 October 2026). comtradeplus.un.org.
- Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF). Risk analysis for de-crowned pineapple from India and Indonesia, 2026. agriculture.gov.au.
- APHIS (US Department of Agriculture). Federal Register notices on pineapple imports: Indonesia (2025-09657, 29 May 2025), Taiwan (2026-04206, 3 March 2026), Thailand and the Philippines (2026-11636, 10 June 2026). govinfo.gov.
- Codex Alimentarius. Standard for Pineapples, CXS 182-1993 (revised 1999, amended 2005, 2011). fao.org.
- European Commission. Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2429 on marketing standards for fruit and vegetables, consolidated version of 4 October 2025. eur-lex.europa.eu.
- CBI (Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Entering the European market for fresh pineapples, 10 October 2022. cbi.eu.
- European Commission. Commission Regulation (EU) 2026/215 amending the maximum residue levels for ethephon. eur-lex.europa.eu.
- USITC. Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 2026, subheadings 0804.30, 2009.41, 2009.49 and Chapter 99 (note 52). hts.usitc.gov.
Article by AgrifoodV, compiled from the sources above (accessed 17 October 2026). This content is for reference only and is not a substitute for technical advice for a specific growing area. Cover image: EqualStock IN / Pexels.
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