Vietnamese farming products ensured to reach China smoothly

Commercial Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam Hu Suo Jin said that the embassy committed close co-operation with Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and relevant agencies in consuming Vietnamese farming products.

“Together with the COVID-19 prevention and control, economic development, particularly the consumption of farming products are needed during this time,” he said during his recent visit to the northern province of Lang Son.

Hu added that the secretariat of Bac Giang Province Party’s Committee called and sent letters to the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam twice, calling for co-operation in boost the consumption of local farming products and helping farmers overcome difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

On June 8, Bac Giang Province is going to organise a trade promotion for its farming products.

At the trade promotion, Vietnam’s authorities, agencies, enterprises and their Chinese counterparts would discuss the exports of Vietnamese farming products to China. A similar trade promotion was organised by the northern province of Hai Duong earlier.

Commercial Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam Hu Suo Jin said that for months, the embassy took measures to facilitate the exports of farming products from Vietnam to China.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam said that the ministry was asking provinces to closely co-operate with the ministry to boost the exports of farming products to China and other markets.

According to Bao Nguyen Commercial Joint Stocks Company which operates Tan Thanh Coach Station near Tan Thanh border gate of Lang Son Province, on the first two days of June, the number of trucks carrying farming products to the border gate increased sharply but no congestion happened.

The company arranged separate lanes for Bac Giang lychees to avoid congestions that were usually seen in previous years.

Nguyen Thi Ha, Director of the Plant Quarantine Sub-Department of Region VII under Plant Protection Department said that according to statistics in the first 5 months of the year, the export volume of agricultural products including 8 types of fruits and black jelly (dried black jelly and dried black jelly starch) to China increased by 50 per cent over the same period in 2020.

The fruits for exports included fresh rambutan, fresh banana, fresh watermelon, fresh jackfruit, fresh longan, fresh dragon fruit, fresh lychee, fresh mango. 

Nguyen Huu Vuong, Deputy Director of Lang Son Province Customs Department, said that fresh lychee was currently included in the list of priority items that were mostly exempted from physical inspection. 

“Only post-clearance inspection is applied for such prioritised items,” he said.

“Each truck carrying fresh lychees for export only takes about 3 minutes to pass through the border gate,” he said.

At this time, local police were also working hard to ensure smooth traffic on national highways and ways to border gates, he said.

Agriculture deputy minister Nam said that export activities were done well at Lang Son province’s border gates as for the first five months of this year, export revenue of Lang Son province reached US$2 billion, increasing 40 per cent compared with the same period last year.

Tan Thanh border gate dealt with 300 trucks daily, Huu Nghi border gate death with 1,000 trucks daily, which proved that it was very convenient to take customs clearance procedures there, Nam said.

Nam said that as COVID-19 vaccines were available now, it was necessary to consider vaccine passport for drivers so that they would not have to take health quarantine.

Vice chairwoman of Lang Son Province People’s Committee Doan Thu Ha said that seeing the resurgence of the COVID-19 in late April 2021, the province developed responses relating to the transportation, export procedures for farming products, the connections with other provinces.

Lang Son Province also kept in touch with authorities of Guangxi Province to jointly ensure smooth flows of farming products between the two countries.  

The province also asked relevant agencies to grant vaccine passports to vaccinated drivers.

As Bac Giang lychees’ peak harvesting time nears, Lang Son and Guangxi authorities reached agreements over the transportation, disinfection and COVID-19 testing for drivers. 

Lang Son Province informed Bac Giang and hai Duong provinces about the agreed procedures.

Nguyen Dinh Dai, Director of Lang Son Province’s Department of Industry and Trade, said that the province and the authorities of Guangxi Province (China) had been facilitating the customs clearance of goods including shortening the time for China's import procedures, extending customs clearance time.

Customs clearance is also conducted on holidays and weekends.

Lang Son Province’s authorities also called on Chinese authorities to give priority to Vietnamese fresh fruits, including fresh lychees for export. Lang Son province is accompanying other provinces to promote the export of fresh lychee products.