According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, China currently accounts for 28% of the total export turnover (export) of Vietnam’s agricultural products to the world. A huge volume of agricultural products exported to China is along the border of the trade, passing through the sub-border gates in Lang Son, Lao Cai, and Quang Ninh … In the trend of modern trade globally connecting, the export of small The category is no longer suitable …
The residue of Vietnamese agricultural products in China is still very large
Preliminary statistics show that the total import-export turnover of agricultural, forestry and fishery products (AFF) Vietnam – China in the first 6 months of 2020 reached more than 4.8 billion USD, down 8.8% over the same period in 2019. In which, exports reached more than 3.6 billion USD, down 9% as compared to the same period in 2019 (accounting for 20.5% of total AFF exports of Vietnam), imports reached 1.19 billion USD, down 8.4 % over the same period in 2019.
Talking with PV of Labor, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Toan – Director of Department of Agro-Processing and Market Development (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) – said that at present, China’s current regulations on strengthening goods management AFF imports are consistent with international practices and applied by many countries.
“China has licensed exports for 9 items of vegetables and fruits and currently the two sides are completing the licensing procedures for black jelly” – Mr. Nguyen Quoc Toan said.
Currently, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has discussed with the Chinese General Department of Customs about the signing of the Protocol on Quarantine for 8 types of fruits (dragon fruit, watermelon, rambutan, mango, lychee, longan, banana, jackfruit), to facilitate the export of fruit through official channels to this market. At the same time, the ministry is also promoting the market opening in order of priority: Grapefruit, passion fruit, avocado, custard apple, coconut, cardamom and pineapple.
Recently, at the Vietnam – China (Yunnan) 2020 Online Trade in Agricultural and Food Products Conference, Mr. Ho Ta Cam – Counselor of the Embassy of China Embassy in Vietnam – review: Many items Vietnamese products such as lychee, longan, dragon fruit, coffee, cashew nuts, aquatic products … are very popular in China.
“Therefore, the two sides need to work closely with each other and strengthen trade promotion activities, not only by traditional methods but also in the online form, which will further promote trade cooperation. “- Mr. Ho Ta Cam emphasized.
Not quickly switching to official export is “suicide”
According to the warning of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, due to the impact of the “shutdown” measures to prevent COVID-19 epidemics, the export output of agricultural products, especially fruits from our country to China decreased sharply by 1/3. . According to Mr. Do Truong Giang – Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Lao Cai province, COVID-19 has caused the exchange of goods across Lao Cai to stall and businesses quickly realized that small-scale exports are no longer suitable, need to be quick. transform for survival and development.
Mr. Giang said that in order to match the new situation, currently, some fruits from Vietnam on the Chinese side have the need to import, enterprises in Ha Khau (China) have switched to importing through official channels. . Lao Cai province also encourages enterprises to export agricultural products to follow the official route through international border gates. However, with strict quarantine regulations and at the same time having to increase the cost of paying value-added tax on imported goods (from China), many enterprises have not yet exported agricultural products through official channels, although is given priority and encouragement.
The transition to official export for the Chinese market is an urgent problem because, at present, Guangxi province (China) has stopped customs clearance at Lung Vai market (China) – Coc Nam (Lang Son, Vietnam) since 1.7.2020 due to concerns about potential risks such as epidemic spread, smuggling, trade fraud. China has also tightened management on the import of agricultural products that have not yet been allowed to open markets, and strictly prohibit imports in the form of border resident exchange for agricultural products that have not yet opened the market.
Nanning, China Customs will also build a plan to stop allowing the import of black jelly and sweet potatoes for on-the-spot processing.
According to Director Nguyen Quoc Toan, China is increasingly demanding on the quality of imported goods, farmers producing and exporting agricultural products need to pay attention to deep processing and good preservation to satisfy them. Moreover, when the Chinese market is malfunctioning and difficult to access, the deep processing of agricultural products will help meet the conditions and standards to divert exports to markets other than domestic consumption. Guangxi province (China) has also asked the Vietnamese side to urge specialized agencies to strengthen quality management of exported agricultural and aquatic products and to soon exchange and sign a Protocol on Quarantine. , opening the market for our fruits including dragon fruit, watermelon, rambutan, mango, lychee, longan, banana, jackfruit) has been permitted by China to open the market in the form of “trade exchange. traditional”.
“Currently, there are 9 items of fruit from Vietnam, including dragon fruit, watermelon, rambutan, mango, lychee, longan, banana, jackfruit and mangosteen, which are exported to China. In particular, the mangosteen item is being viewed for the number of growers and packing facilities (Chinese experts have checked) ”- Mr. Nguyen Quoc Toan added.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade also noted that, in the past, when Vietnam and China were not members of the WTO, all trade activities were border exchanges and there were no certain rules. However, when the two countries became members of the WTO and joined the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA), the trade activities between the two sides became more and more formal.
“Importing via residential border has led to poor quality control. Many items have not been officially exported to China but are still being exported through small quotas. Leading to the situation, there are Vietnamese enterprises, after many years of exchanging exports in the form of small quotas, still “do not bear big” – Deputy Director of the Asia – Africa Market Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade) emphasized.
Recently (August 5.8), at the meeting with Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh, Mr. Ho Ta Cam gave his opinion to support Vietnam to export specialties of longan and longan products. According to Commercial Counselor Ho Ta Cam, the two sides need to strengthen online connections, even organize online conferences to accelerate the consumption of fresh and longan products of Hung Yen and Son La.
Phong Nguyen
Source: Lao Dong Newspaper
