Grapefruits grown in Nui Be commune in Chuong My district of Hanoi could be traceable. (Photo: hanoimoi.vn) Hesaid most export products were complied with regulations on animal andplant quarantine, having traceability and growing area codes, and theissue on the Chinese side was stricter COVID-19 controls in theneighbouring country.
Atthe meeting to discuss promoting agricultural exports, Nam said theministry had now granted nearly 2,000 planting area codes forexported agricultural products to the Chinese market, or more than 60 percentof the total planting areas. For example, they have issued 247codes for dragon fruit, accounting for 85 percent of thegrowing area in Vietnam.
Theofficial said the ministry had worked withChina to allow their customs clearance toresume at border gates popular for Vietnamese exporters, in MongCai in Quang Ninh and Tan Thanh in Lang Son province.
"Evenwhen China has reopened some border gates, they can close them at any timeif export products are found infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus on thepackages,” Nam said.
Asthe Tet (Lunar New Year)holiday is coming, some border gates will be closed for at leasta week for the holiday. Nam asked businesses to consider this asgetting goods through the gates would be very difficult.
Namsaid MARD’s many inspection and quarantine centres had preparedequipment testers to check for virus on goods, to help businesseswith agricultural exports.
Atthe same time MARD and the Ministry of Transport (MoT) and theMinistry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) will organise a meeting on theexport of agricultural produce via sea transport.
Namsaid: "The possibility of transporting agricultural products by sea istaken into account, not only for export to China but also othercountries."
NguyenThanh Tung, deputy director of the Department of Crop Production, saidthat in the first quarter of 2022, the provinces of Binh Thuan, Long An, and TienGiang needed to export about 100,000 tonnes of dragon fruit, or about5,000 containers via sea.
Tungsaid sea transportation also faced with difficulties as costs were three timeshigher than before while a lack of refrigerated containers and shipsto export via sea and the long transit time could affectquality of the products.
TheChinese side's strict control of COVID-19 at seaports would add tothe matter as it may cause slow loading and unloading, and spoiledfruit.
NguyenXuan Sang of the MoT said that since December 2021, the numberof containers transported was 4,000, nearly three times higher than inNovember.
Sangpointed out the difficulties in converting from land to sea transport,saying: “First, the export must be with official quota, whilemuch fruit trading is not via official channels. Secondly, the costof transportation can increase to an uncontrolled level, because businesses haveto bear additional fees for empty containers to Vietnam.”
Sangalso said a strict policy of "Zero COVID-19" was applied tosea routes so the speed of customs clearance by sea was not necessarilyfaster than by road.
Hesaid there were signs of congestion in some wharfs for agriculturalproduce in China's seaports for about a week, thus through exporting bysea, domestic enterprises may incur additional storage fees.
LeQuang Trung, deputy general director of Vietnam MaritimeCorporation (VIMC), said it would study and consider the exemptionand reduction of shipping fees for businesses to support dragon fruitconsumption and other agricultural produce.
Onthe same day, the MoIT held a meeting discussing the congestion ofthousands of containers of agricultural produce exported to China.
NguyenCam Trang, deputy director of the Import-Export Department, said thatin the past two years, despite the pandemic, the export of agriculturalproducts to the Chinese market was still very positive, with a growth rate of18.3 percent.
Shesaid, however, the negotiation on quarantine between the two sides was stillslow, making a problem for Vietnamese fruits in the Chinese market,adding that 100 percent of Vietnamese fruits exported toChina had to be quarantined, while Thailand only has to quarantine30 percent.
Trangsaid the MoIT had organised working groups to border provinces to graspthe situation and find immediate solutions.
TheMoIT and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have worked with China tomake an agreement on the delivery process./.
VNA
