Agricultural and aquatic products are a traditional group of Vietnamese exports to China, always accounting for a large proportion (about 20%) of the total export turnover to this market.
China is also the largest agricultural and aquatic consumer market of Vietnam, accounting for an average of about 27% of our country's total agricultural and aquatic export to the world. In particular, there are many items with large turnover such as vegetables, cashews, coffee, rice, cassava and products from cassava, rubber and aquatic products.
From 2018 to now, after reorganizing the Government-attached agencies, according to that, the system of testing and quarantine agencies was merged into the General Department of Customs of China, the Chinese side has deployed copper. a set of measures to ensure serious and complete enforcement of regulations that China has long promulgated on testing – quarantine, traceability, packaging, labeling, etc. This is one of the reasons why Vietnam's agricultural and aquatic product exports to China have stalled and decreased in the past two years after years of decent growth.
According to the statistics of Vietnam Customs, after dropping by 5.5% in 2018, agricultural and fishery export turnover in 11 months of 2019 to China continued to decrease by 5.86% over the same period, reaching only reached 6.31 billion USD. In particular, in addition to 04 items with increased export turnover, including rubber (US $ 1.34 billion, up 9.77%); fishery (USD 1.1 billion; an increase of 19.75%); cashew nuts (520 million USD; an increase of 32.55%), tea (22.7 million USD, an increase of 24.89%); there are 04 groups of items with decreased export value, including rice (USD 225 million, down 66.37%); vegetables and fruits (2.24 billion USD, down 14.02%); coffee (89.5 million, down 8.94%) and cassava, cassava products (736 million, down 1.05%).
Objectively assessing, China's regulations on traceability, packaging, labels … for imported agricultural and aquatic products are all basic requirements and are allowed to apply according to of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Vietnam and many countries in the world have been applying similar measures to control the quality of imported agricultural and aquatic products, thereby protecting consumers' health. The full and serious implementation of these regulations in the immediate future could affect some of Vietnam's agricultural and aquatic products currently being exported to China in the form of “border residents exchange”, but In the long run, it will contribute to motivating localities and farmers in our country to reorganize production towards maximizing the basic rights of Vietnamese and international consumers, including the right to safety and the right to be fully informed about the products and goods they buy.
In recent years, recognizing the importance of preserving and developing export markets for agricultural and aquatic products, including the Chinese market, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and localities. The Northern border and the media have continuously provided information and warnings to businesses, associations and farmer households across the country about policies, regulations as well as policy implementation dynamics, Chinese regulations.
The two ministries have jointly organized many popular conferences, propaganda as well as trade activities, connecting agricultural business enterprises of the two countries in order to maintain and promote the export of agricultural and aquatic products to the markets. this important. Up to now, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has issued a code for rearing and planting areas meeting food quality and safety requirements for 1,749 fresh fruit growing areas and 1,200 export fruit packing facilities. Still updated according to local / business requirements. Many Vietnamese businesses and farmer households have gradually adapted and shifted the export of agricultural and aquatic products to the Chinese market to a formal, gradual, gradual reduction and towards an end to export in the form of “giving change residents ”. At the same time, Vietnam's ministries and sectors, under the leadership of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, have been trying to negotiate with China on food safety to officially open the market. For products such as durian, purple sweet potato, bird's nest, black jelly, clam, tilapia, crab, tuna, clam, jellyfish, and a half, etc. These are all products for which China has reduced import duties. According to the trade negotiation channel, if the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is able to successfully negotiate food safety standards, the potential for official export to China is huge.
China has become the 2nd largest economy in the world with a population of 1.4 billion, of which the number of middle-class people has been growing rapidly, expected to reach 550 million people by 2022. Demand The consumption of agricultural and aquatic products is huge, but the quality requirements will also increase. In order to maintain and develop the Chinese market, the ministries and central branches will continue their efforts to negotiate the opening of the market at the macro level accompanied by providing sufficient information on the requirements of market. However, such efforts will not be effective without the cooperation of local authorities at all levels, industry associations, exporters and farmers.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development are calling for commodity associations and export enterprises to (i) proactively grasp information about market requirements, thereby guiding farmers to organize production. Export in accordance with the requirements of product quality and standards; (ii) changing the attitude of dealing with the Chinese market in the direction of maximizing the basic rights of consumers; and (iii) resolutely shifting rapidly, strongly shifting from export in the form of “exchange of residents” to official export according to international practices through official border gates.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development also asked the local authorities at all levels to be more proactive in grasping and organizing the dissemination of information and recommendations of the ministries and central branches on needs, market movements, regulations on standards and quality for importing agricultural and aquatic products to farmers in the area. Experience from the past years has shown that localities that really care about farmers and consume agricultural and aquatic products for farmers (such as Bac Giang and Son La) are successful in capturing market and production information. reorganize production, register farming areas with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and connect seamlessly between sellers and buyers. These models should be referenced and replicated.
For its part, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the system of Trade Offices and Vietnam Trade Office branches in foreign countries will continue to closely coordinate with other ministries and branches to continue promoting the market opening and supplying activities. information and remove difficulties and barriers for agricultural and aquatic products exported to the world market in general and the Chinese market in particular.
