The number of vehicles carrying agricultural products to China is increasing day by day. Currently, there are more than 500 vehicles in Lao Cai, while in Lang Son, on average, more than 800 vehicles are cleared daily. However, the export of agricultural-forestry-fishery products to China still faces many challenges.
The door for fruits to China is opened widely.
At the online forum “Promoting agricultural and food trade between Vietnam and Yunnan province (China)”, organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) on February 10, 2023: Mr. Huynh Tan Dat, Deputy Director of the Plant Protection Department (MARD), said that there is still a situation of code impersonation, improper use of codes for export that affect the reputation of Vietnamese goods.
VIETNAM ACCOUNTS FOR LESS THAN 5% OF THE CHINESE MARKET
Mr. Vuong Trinh Quoc, Head of the Management Board of Lao Cai Border Gate Economic Zone, said that since January 8, activities at Lao Cai International Border Gate have been back to normal as before the pandemic.
“Over the past month, there have been more than 6,000 vehicles importing and exporting goods through border gates in Lao Cai province, mainly Kim Thanh Border Gate. Of which, 2,000 vehicles were for exports and 4,000 for imports, with the main items being fresh fruits, green beans, peanuts, and cassava, of which fresh dragon fruit accounted for 80%, ” Mr.Quoc said.
Mr. Tran Thanh Nam – Deputy Minister of the MARD chaired the Forum on February 10, 2023.
Lao Cai has created favorable conditions for Vinh Long, Long An, and Ninh Thuan provinces to export agricultural products through the province’s border gates. The province also facilitates infrastructure and procedural measures to meet the needs of enterprises.
Mr. Le Thanh Hoa, Deputy Director of the Department of Quality, Processing, and Market Development of Agricultural Products (MARD), said that China’s opening of border gates back on January 8, 2023, is good news for enterprises of the two countries but it is also a challenge for Vietnamese exporters.
“In 2022, Vietnam exported more than 53 billion USD of agricultural-forestry-fishery products, of which the Chinese market contributed more than 14 billion USD. However, considering 260 billion USD of China’s total imports of agricultural-forestry-fishery products, we only account for less than 5%.”
Mr. Le Thanh Hoa, Deputy Director of Department of Quality, Processing, and Market Development of Agricultural Products.
Mr. Hoa noted enterprises that want to export to China, need to complete the dossier from now until June 30, 2023. Particularly for fruit products, the MARD has issued more than 2,000 codes for export enterprises.
“The border trade policy with China has a lot of impact on fresh fruits and vegetables. Regarding the value-added tax, we have made specific recommendations to the State Bank and the Ministry of Industry and Trade regarding RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement), ” Mr.Hoa shared.
Mr. Huynh Tan Dat, Deputy Director of the Plant Protection Department, said that the MARD and the General Department of Customs of China signed a phytosanitary protocol for agricultural products including banana, durian, mangosteen, black jelly, rice bran, and rice. At the same time, the Department is under negotiation to sign a formal export protocol for some traditional fresh fruits such as watermelon, dragon fruit, mango, jackfruit, longan, lychee, and rambutan; temporary export guidelines for chili and passion fruit.
The two sides are negotiating for the export of sweet potatoes (which have signed the Protocol, currently, the two sides are preparing for field inspections of packaging facilities), medicinal herbs, grapefruit, some citrus fruits, and coconuts. At the same time, the MARD has submitted dossiers for custard apples and black cardamom to China.
Regarding difficulties and shortcomings in Vietnam’s agricultural exports to China, the Deputy Director of the Plant Protection Department has pointed out that: there is still a situation of impersonating codes and using incorrect codes for export, which affect the reputation of Vietnamese goods.
“To solve this problem, in the past time, the Plant Protection Department has built a database and published the planting area code. At the same time, the Department has coordinated with Phytosanitary Department at border gates to strictly control, ” Mr. Dat said.
Mr. Huynh Tan Dat, Deputy Director of the Plant Protection Department, was speaking at the forum.
Facing the fact that many enterprises are reporting difficulties in the process of registering rice exports to China, Mr. Huynh Tan Dat said that: So far, only 22 enterprises are allowed to officially export rice and rice bran products to China.
“To be approved for export to China, enterprises must ensure sufficient information as prescribed, demonstrate sufficient components of dossiers related to the production process in the field to harvest, pre-process, and process to ensure HACCP food safety,” Mr.Dat emphasized./.