As of May 31, the SPS Vietnam Office has updated 405 notices of WTO members about effective drafts and regulations on SPS that may affect Vietnam’s agricultural, forestry and fishery exports. .
On June 2, in Lam Dong province, the National Notification Office and Inquiry Point on Sanitation, Epidemiology and Quarantine of Vietnam Animals and Plants (SPS Vietnam), the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development cooperated with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Department of Industry and Trade, and the Farmers’ Association of Lam Dong province held a conference to disseminate regulations and commitments on SPS in the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreements (EVFTA), the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), and the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement. Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
According to Mr. Ngo Xuan Nam, Deputy Director of SPS Vietnam Office, in recent years, changes in regulations on quality, food safety, product origin, packaging… have been greatly appreciated by countries. care about. Because this serves not only export but also domestic consumption in that country. Every year, WTO member countries announce changes to about 1,000 food safety measures. Therefore, the production will have to understand changes in the market, such as maximum residue levels, regulations on pre-processing and processing factories, etc.
Typically, in Order 248 and Order 249, the General Administration of Customs of China has changed the requirements for factories for preliminary processing and processing of agricultural products to better control product quality. These regulations are mandatory for businesses to comply with in order to export to China.
According to Mr. Ngo Xuan Nam, Vietnam has now been approved by the General Department of Customs of China with over 2,000 product codes allowed to be exported to this market. After successful registration, it is expected that in June 2023, the General Administration of Customs of China will select and check enterprises online. Therefore, enterprises need to organize production to meet the requirements of the market.
For example, with the EU market, many businesses think that this is a difficult market. But if we study and learn carefully about the market, we can easily export to this market. Typically, recently the EU changed the level of Ethylene Oxide residues in instant noodles products, businesses need to know immediately to adjust in production, as well as monitor hazards… to create products that meet regulations EU regulations. If businesses do not promptly update this change, it is very easy to violate the above regulations, Mr. Ngo Xuan Nam said.
At the conference, Mr. Nong Duc Lai, Vietnam Trade Office in Beijing, China shared with businesses about production capacity, import demand for agricultural and aquatic products; especially 9 agricultural products are officially exported to China.
Mr. Nong Duc Lai also noted, enterprises must understand the import regulations, especially agricultural products and food; strictly follow the regulations on quality, origin, factory…. Enterprises need to have a team of staff who are specialized in this market and have good foreign language skills.
In the context that the importing country is still strictly controlling goods to fight the COVID-19 epidemic, businesses need to have good control over epidemic prevention, especially fresh and frozen agricultural products from production, preliminary processing, packaging. package to export to avoid unnecessary situations. If the shipment is found to have the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the business will be suspended from exporting, Mr. Nong Duc Lai emphasized.
Enterprises can share information about food safety and animal and plant quarantine measures. Photo: Bich Hong?BNEWS/VNA
Update on the notices on Food Safety and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) by WTO members, said Mr. Dao Van Cuong, SPS Vietnam Office, from the beginning of the year to May 31, 2022 , SPS Vietnam Office has updated 405 notices of WTO members about drafts and effective regulations on SPS that may affect Vietnam’s agricultural, forestry and fishery exports. Compared to the same period last year, the number of notifications increased by 12%. Leading in the number of announcements is ASEAN, followed by Japan, EU, Canada, USA…
Particularly, the EU’s notice for Vietnam’s agricultural, food and aquatic products in violation of food safety regulations from the beginning of the year to May 31 has 36 notices; in which, the most are instant noodles, followed by seafood and fresh fruit. Meanwhile, for the whole year of 2021, Vietnam received only 40 notices from the EU for Vietnamese agricultural, food and seafood products violating food safety regulations.
Sharing about the information channel that helps businesses to quickly update new regulations of the EU market, Mr. Luong Phuoc Vinh, Southeast Asia Regional Director, Tentamus Group (Tentamus Group GmbH) information about software Look up maximum residue levels.
The search system will provide information to the right audience, the right focus of the content the business needs. When the EU has changed information, the system will automatically send email to businesses. This will help businesses reduce time and human resources to monitor information from state management agencies.
When receiving information, if the information is not reasonable, or the importing country’s changes in the maximum residue level can have a strong impact on exports, or it is not reasonable with international practices, etc., the enterprises may react. immediately on the system. This feedback will be directly connected to the SPS Vietnam Office, said Mr. Luong Phuoc Vinh.
SPS Vietnam Office said that in the coming time, the Office will continue to select key agricultural production areas of Vietnam, directly related to the export of key agricultural products to organize conferences to popularize agricultural products. transform regulations and commitments on SPS in free trade agreements.
According to VNA
