Vietnam has moved to tighten quarantine restrictions on imported fruit, meaning Australian exporters face up to $50 million in lost trade.
Vietnam's Plant Protection Department announced the tougher measures last week, with department head Nguyen Xuan Hong telling local media the strict technical measures were designed to ensure food hygiene and safety, especially with imported fruit.
The steps come a month after Vietnam imposed a ban on Australian fruit because of claims of an outbreak of fruit fly in Australia.
A tightening of quarantine on imported fruit marks a further setback for Australian fruit exporters, already facing access restrictions to markets in Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia.
Chief executive of Brisbane-based Australian Horticulture Exporters, Michelle Christoe, said Australia's Department of Agriculture was in talks with Vietnam over the claim of fruit fly infestations.
"However, they ... need to put more resources (in) and be proactive to these situations to bring a resolution," Ms Christoe told AAP.
Data shows Vietnam purchased 2,000 tonnes of fruit from Australia in the first 10 months of 2014.
Hardest hit by the ban has been table grapes, which account for $40 million of the $50 million total fruit exports to Vietnam.
The halt in trade has come at the peak produce period that has left growers little time to seek alternate markets.
But Ms Christoe also lays part of the responsibility for the ban on the Australian Department of Agriculture for failing to clear access for Vietnamese fruit exports.
"Vietnam wants access to Australia's markets for some of its produce - lychees, mangoes, and dragon fruit. It's not really about the fruit fly concerns that they have with Australian produce," she said.
But she is optimistic the talks over lychees may be concluded "very shortly".
Vietnam put in an application for exporting lychees to Australia in 2003, "so nothing was done about it for years".
As a result Vietnam has thrown down the gauntlet to force a decision by Australian authorities, she said.
"Whilst in Australia we are concerned about biosecurity issues, here it's not pest concerns, it's a lack of resources and priority on the issue to bring it to conclusion," she said.
The import ban has hit key rural communities in areas such as Mildura in north western Victoria, dependent on the income from table grape production. There are fears of farm closures.
"This is quite a devastating blow to the horticulture industry," Ms Christoe said.
"Once you can't supply one of your customers, they go and find their produce elsewhere. And it's hard to make up these relations again and get them to purchase produce off you."
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