Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuc, President of Bagico, said that if the Corona pandemic did not occur, it could still be one to two months from now, we still have problems with agricultural congestion at the border gate due to traceability requirements. The origin was announced by China two years ago but up to now it still “traps in place”.
But now, due to the outbreak of corona virus, demand for some agricultural products in China has leveled off.
Recently, Bang Tuong Foreign Trade and Economic External Trade Coordination Committee (China) announced the closure of trading at pairs of markets in Bang Tuong town from January 31, 2020 to the end of the day. February 8, 2020, and will open on February 9, 2020 (except for the Huu Nghi Quan international border gate opened on February 3, 2020), with the pretext of ensuring the prevention of viral influenza corona.
Moreover, the freight forwarding between provinces and cities of China is also very difficult due to tightening control to carry out anti-epidemic work. This resulted in thousands of tons of Vietnamese agricultural products congested at the border gates waiting for customs clearance.
Opening common gate: Not enough?
Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuc, President of Bagico
At an online seminar “How does Corona virus affect Vietnam's economy?” Organized by Today Rural / Dan Viet Newspaper, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuc, President of Bagico, said two main markets of China Currently the traditional market (people's market) and supermarket market, e-commerce. In particular, the traditional market is the segment most affected by the Corona virus epidemic.
For fruits in particular and Vietnamese agricultural products exported to China in general, Vietnam's tradition is to export fresh and by road to traditional markets and Chinese wholesale markets. Therefore, the Vietnam – China border gate has been delayed for a few days because the Corona virus epidemic has certainly affected the export of Vietnamese agricultural products. In fact, many Vietnamese agricultural products vehicles are stalled at the border gates, even turning their heads because the border yards are not capable of supplying electricity to preserve goods.
In addition, because most of Vietnam's agricultural products exported to China at the moment are 3 types of watermelon, dragon fruit and jackfruit. These fruits when exported to the Chinese market are mainly concentrated in Giang Nam wholesale market, Guangzhou. As expected, this traditional market will be closed until the end of February 9 in quarantine efforts.
“Even if the border gate is open normally, if Giang Nam market does not work again, the congestion situation has not been solved. Because most of the agricultural products such as dragon fruits that are standing at the current border belong to the owners of goods sold in Giang Nam market. If this market is not open, then we will only switch from running from one border to the other to pass. Therefore, not only exporters, but also farmers and traders are waiting for information on whether Giang Nam market will open on 10 February or not, ”Ms. Thuc added.
No outbreak occurred, agricultural products were still “entangled” at the border gate
Talking more about the export of Vietnamese agricultural products, Ms. Thuc said that it is not the time for the epidemic to face difficulties in exporting. “If this outbreak does not occur, it is likely that in the next 1-2 months we will still have problems with agricultural congestion at the border gate,” he said.
According to his explanation, one of the problems of exporting agricultural products is regulations on traceability. In fact, traceability regulations were announced by China two years ago, but so far we have stood still in place to implement them. What specific regulations about area codes, factory codes or traceability stamps are not required. According to Thuc, this is a matter of policy.
Not to mention, Vietnam's cultivation law itself has article 64 on the management of traceability. However, the guiding documents of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development as well as the People's Committees at all levels have not. Therefore, policies need to be done in a timely and faster manner to support agricultural exports.
She added, many countries in the world want to sell to China, especially agricultural products. Therefore, let us not think that the “anti-China” of China must be able to capture this large market and be able to compete with other countries. Currently, their e-commerce has developed but our products are still poor in quality and design, so Vietnamese agricultural products will have more difficulties in exporting agricultural products to this market.
“If we do it well, we will no longer be rescued at the border. Coming to China, the goods that are “attached” to Vietnamese brands are too few. If we do not have a foothold in the market, Vietnam's agricultural exports will depend entirely on people “who come to our house to buy and take away,” said Bagico President.
Same perspective, according to TS. Dang Kim Son, in the long term we have to do more long-term basis such as diversifying markets, building value chains from production to final consumption, fragmented production to large scale … all of which are issues that have been talked about a lot and haven't done it yet.
