Hanoi, May 13 -- Vietnam is stepping up measures to maintain dragon fruit exports to the European Union (EU) amid increasingly stringent food safety and pesticide residue regulations imposed by the bloc. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, Vietnamese dragon fruit, a major foreign currency earner, remains subject to enhanced control under Annex II of Regulation (EU) 2019/1793, with an inspection frequency of 30%. The pressure on exporters is expected to increase further after the EU announced on January 29, 2026, a shift in setting maximum residue limits (MRLs) from a "risk-based" to a "hazard-based" approach. Under the new method, high-risk substances potentially linked to cancer or endocrine disruption will face a d...