Every month, the Vietnam SPS Office receives about a hundred notices and drafts on changes to food safety measures and animal and plant disease safety.
Information given at the Conference: “Dissemination of regulations and commitments on SPS in the free trade agreement between Vietnam and members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)” by SPS Vietnam Office (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) coordinated with the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to organize the event on the morning of November 23.
Speaking at the opening of the Conference, Mr. Ngo Xuan Nam – Deputy Director of SPS Vietnam Office said that up to now, Vietnam has been participating in 19 bilateral and multilateral trade agreements, including 16 agreements. Agreement has been officially signed and 3 agreements are under negotiation.
Among them, there are many new generation Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with mandatory commitments, with many regulations on food safety and animal and plant disease safety (SPS) that we must compliance to meet the requirements of the importing country.
“Every month, the SPS Office receives about a hundred notices and drafts on changes to SPS measures, including drafts on changes in pesticide residue levels, veterinary drugs, and on animal protection products. quarantine regulations, regulations on materials in contact with products…”Mr. Ngo Xuan Nam shared and emphasized that updating and disseminating information on market regulations on SPS is very important.
With the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) taking effect from January 1, 2022, including ASEAN countries, China, Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand with many commitments, in That includes a commitment to SPS that Vietnam participates in.
Particularly in the RCEP bloc, there are key export markets of Vietnam such as China, Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Among them, China is one of the key markets for Vietnam’s agricultural exports. Recently, China has issued regulations on food safety and animal and plant quarantine for each commodity industry.
| Mr. Ngo Xuan Nam – Deputy Director of SPS Vietnam Office spoke at the Conference |
According to Mr. Ngo Xuan Nam, Vietnam has traditional export industries to the Chinese market. However, there are currently industries that we have signed agreements through protocols with the General Department of Customs of China to promote such as aquatic products, fresh fruit products, products of plant origin, products of animal origin such as bird’s nest to promote the export of agricultural and food products.
Especially from 2021, China has issued Regulations 248 and 249 on registration of agricultural and food export enterprises and management of import and export food safety.
To date, China has approved nearly 3,000 product codes for Vietnam for agricultural and food processing factories exporting to China. Therefore, in recent times, promoting the export of agricultural products to the Chinese market has been relatively favorable.
However, to improve the quality of Vietnam’s agricultural and food products and ensure safety when exported, removing difficulties for businesses, updating and guiding market regulations is essential.
From a local perspective, Mr. Nguyen Manh Phuong – Deputy Director of Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development emphasized that besides positive impacts from integration, agricultural, forestry and fishery goods tend to face challenges. Many trade barriers are set up by importing countries to protect domestic production; increasingly strict requirements on food quality and safety, traceability, environmental protection requirements…
The most important thing is that we must early fully identify the potentials and opportunities, anticipate them to prevent and overcome the downsides and limitations, thereby providing a strategic vision and synchronous solutions for development. develop the industry effectively and sustainably.
Within the framework of the conference, SPS Vietnam Office and related agencies supported businesses in disseminating information and updating new regulations of the Chinese market such as: changing material standards. contact with food, food additives, salt and milk…, new market regulations in Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand…; answer the difficulties and problems of businesses in recent times.
Information about the Chinese market, Mr. Lo Xuan Quyet – Chief Representative of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Office in Hangzhou, China said that Vietnam ranked 10th among countries exporting agricultural products to China. However, it only accounts for about 2.6% of the country’s total agricultural import value.
Every year there are thousands of cases of agricultural products and food from countries (territories) violating China’s import regulations and standards. Vietnam is in the group of 10 countries (territories) with the largest number of agricultural and food products subject to warnings. Warning errors include: Quality, food safety and hygiene; Documents accompanying the goods; Goods packaging labels do not meet regulations and import requirements…
Also according to Mr. Lo Xuan Quyet, Chinese consumption trends, especially urban consumers, are increasingly interested in products that are good for health, high quality and of clear origin. In addition, there are standards to standardize regulations and systems for management and supervision of quality, food safety and hygiene, and traceability of food goods according to international standards.
Therefore, businesses need to organize production according to VietGap, GlobalGap standards, importing country standards and strengthen management and supervision of quality, food safety and hygiene; comply with regulations on quality standards, quarantine testing, packaging, and origin traceability of the importing country; focus on brand building; It is necessary to have human resources with professional knowledge, language proficiency, and understanding of the importing country’s market.
“SPS regulations are mandatory regulations. If we violate them, our import partners will warn us of violation. This will cause impact and damage to businesses and especially affect the entire industry and Vietnamese agricultural product brand in the international arena.”Mr. Ngo Xuan Nam emphasized.
This afternoon (November 23), delegates will visit a food production and processing facility for export that meets standards in the safe vegetable production area of Van Duc commune, Gia Lam district to share experiences.
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RCEP is a “giant” trade agreement, representing one of the world’s largest free trade blocs. Member countries account for about 30% of global gross domestic product, population and trade volume. Currently, reports assessing the impact of RCEP all say that the agreement will bring many positive impacts to the regional economy. Accordingly, by 2030, it will increase the income of the entire region by about 0.6%, equivalent to an annual increase of 245 billion USD and create an additional 2.8 million jobs. For Vietnam, recent studies show that Vietnam will benefit a lot from RCEP. The World Bank’s 2022 study forecasts that Vietnam’s GDP will increase by about 4.9% and exports will increase by 11.4% by 2030. |
According to Congthuong.vn
