Pepper exports are facing many difficulties due to being included in the ‘golden stream’ by Customs because it is still considered a conditional export item.
According to the Vietnam Pepper Association (VPA), information from some pepper exporters said that, recently, the proportion of “golden stream” declarations (customs check records) for exported pepper increased from 8% to 60% and mainly focused on black pepper. In particular, there are businesses that have to declare “golden flow” over 95% of export shipments.
This has caused a lot of difficulties for businesses as costs increase, especially during the outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic, traveling to process customs declarations will have many potential risks of Covid exposure. -19.
The reason for the sudden increase in the rate of golden channel declarations for export pepper as above is because pepper is still considered a conditional export item.
Specifically, on July 21, 2021, in the official letter responding to the VPA’s reflection requesting to consider the problems of channeling with exported pepper, the Risk Management Department (General Department of Customs) said that When pepper is currently on the list of conditional exports, the customs authority must conduct inspection according to specialized management documents.
Also according to the Risk Management Department, in case it is determined that pepper exporters are medicinal herbs not used for medicinal purposes according to Article 2 of Circular No. 03/2021/TT-BYT of the Ministry of Health, the Customs authority implement customs clearance on the system, ensuring convenience for businesses.
The reason pepper exports unexpectedly encountered difficulties was because it was considered a medicinal product by the Ministry of Health. In Appendix 1 of Circular No. 48/2018/TT-BYT of the Ministry of Health on the List of commodity codes with exported and imported medicinal herbs, there is the name of the pepper product (HS code 0904.11.20).
On March 4, 2021, the Ministry of Health issued Circular No. 03/2021/TT-BYT on the removal of a number of items listed in Appendix 1 issued together with Circular No. 48/2018/TT-BYT, including pepper products.
However, in Article 2 of Circular No. 03 above, it is stipulate: “In case the exported or imported goods specified in the Appendix issued together with this Circular are used for medicinal purposes and raw materials. medicinal materials shall comply with the provisions of legal documents on pharmacy”. Therefore, from the point of view of Customs, pepper is still a conditional export item.
According to the view of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, pepper is a common agricultural product and is in the group of 13 key agricultural products. Photo: TL.
Meanwhile, in view of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, pepper is a common agricultural product. Specifically, in the Circular No. 37/2018/TT-BNNPTNT of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development dated December 25, 2018 promulgating the list of national key agricultural products, pepper is one of the 13 key commodities in the list of key agricultural products. list.
In fact, for many years, Vietnam has always been the largest pepper exporter in the world. Export volume each year to hundreds of thousands of tons. Specifically, according to the General Department of Customs, in 2020, Vietnam exports 285,000 tons of pepper to more than 110 countries around the world, with a total export turnover of 660 million USD.
In the first 6 months of 2021, Vietnam exported 154,000 tons, export turnover reached 497 million USD, compared to the same period last year, the export volume decreased by 7.5% but the turnover increased by 39.8%.
According to VPA’s statistics, the proportion of black pepper products (HS code 0904.11.20) for export accounts for 80% of Vietnam’s total pepper exports. The remaining items include: ground black pepper, white pepper, ground white pepper, pickled pepper, etc., which are exported by enterprises in the form of pepper.
In fact, export black pepper is now a common agricultural export commodity. Mainly used as seasoning in food processing in the import market.
VPA said that although pepper is also used as medicine, the import markets set very strict standards for medicinal products. Therefore, although Vietnam has been exporting pepper for decades, so far, no Vietnamese enterprise has met the pharmaceutical standards for exported pepper. Currently, black pepper is used as a medicine only in Vietnam through traditional medicine and accounts for an extremely small percentage.
On the other hand, most Vietnamese pepper exporters do not have a pharmaceutical business function but only register for import and export business of agricultural products. That means that the pepper that enterprises are exporting is a common agricultural product.
Therefore, in the official dispatch dated July 22, 2021, sent to the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the General Department of Customs, VPA asked the Ministry of Health to consider removing black pepper from the market. the list of exports subject to conditions and not subject to risk management in the division of customs inspection channels in order to create favorable conditions for pepper exporters.
In case the enterprise’s request is not considered, the VPA proposes the Ministry of Health to provide specific guidance on documents and procedures for certifying that the enterprise’s exported pepper is not for medicinal purposes and medicinal ingredients. for enterprises to submit to the customs office as instructed.
According to NNVN
