It is necessary to promote exchanges and talks to improve the export capacity of agricultural products

At the seminar “Importing and exporting agricultural products across borders in a new context: Current situation and solutions” jointly organized by the Customs Research Institute under the General Department of Customs, Lang Son Customs Department and the National Institution for Finance under the Ministry of Finance) on May 12 in Lang Son City, experts, scientists and delegates also focused on discussing and making many recommendations to enable the export of Vietnamese agricultural products.

Enhance exchanges and talks

According to Deputy Director General Nguyen Anh Tai, the first solution is strengthening exchanges and talks with the Chinese side to soon resume customs clearance at border gates and expand the delivery method of goods at Chi Ma and Coc Nam border gates in the direction of allowing Vietnamese vehicles to go to China to deliver import and export goods.

At the same time, it is necessary to develop solutions to facilitate and strengthen the customs clearance capacity for the export of agricultural products.

Then, the ministries, competent authorities and departments should continue to promote negotiations and agreements with relevant Chinese agencies to soon complete the signing of the Protocol on plant quarantine for agricultural products and fruits which have not been included in the Protocol; consider signing a bilateral agreement on quarantine for exported agricultural products to reduce the physical inspection rate, contributing to creating favorable conditions for Vietnam’s export activities to the Chinese market.

Lang Son Customs works and local Government authorities of Lang Son province to hold online talks with the local Government authorities of Pingxiang, Guangxi, China to discuss the reopening of the Coc Nam – Lung Nghiu border gate pair (on July 14, 2022).

In addition, it is necessary to further promote cooperation on upgrading border gates between Vietnam and China to meet the needs of enterprises of the two countries, especially the exchange and talks with the Chinese side to agree on the working time at the Chi Ma – Ai Diem bilateral border gate; completing the procedures, soon approving and officially putting into operation the dedicated cargo route Tan Thanh – Po Chai through the landmark 1088/2 – 1089, becoming the customs clearance path at Huu Nghi – Huu Nghi Quan international border gate; promote the official opening of the Binh Nghi – Binh Nghi Quan border gate.

At the same time, Deputy Director General Nguyen Anh Tai also proposed to accelerate the trade promotion activities, seek to expand the export market of agricultural products to avoid dependence on the Chinese side; boost domestic consumption as well as agricultural product processing to proactively make a plan for and support agricultural product consumption upon force majeure events such as the pandemic or China’s management policies for agricultural products against Vietnam’s export agricultural products.

In addition, it is necessary to propose the Chinese authorities create favorable conditions for the delivery of agricultural products and fresh fruits exported from Vietnam to China by rail to reduce the congestion at peak times or the main crop of agricultural products and fruits.

Mr. Nguyen Anh Tai also recommended businesses invest in cold storage to preserve agricultural products and fresh fruits for export at the border gate area to contribute to limiting congestion and creating favorable conditions for the export of Vietnam’s goods to the Chinese market.

Need synchronous coordination

According to many experts, although the solutions have been developed, in addition to the efforts of the management agencies, the synchronous coordination from the associations, industries, organizations and individuals involved in exporting agricultural products are extremely is a must to get the highest results.

Accordingly, the role of associations and industries in solving bottlenecks related to export and import activities at border gates should be further strengthened. At the same time, associations, industries and businesses also need to proactively coordinate with, capture and exchange information with competent authorities on the market situation, agricultural product export activities, and the situation of border gates to have timely adjustments to the production and business plan, minimizing losses.

Particularly, organizations and individuals involved in agricultural export activities need to unify with their Chinese partners in the delivery of goods and study the transition from oral trade agreements into signed trade contracts, and open official export declarations. In particular, it is necessary to carefully understand China’s regulations on sanitary conditions, food safety, quarantine, packaging, packing specifications, labels, growing area codes, etc. to avoid cases where the goods are not accepted by China and are forced to re-import into Vietnam, wasting costs and time.

Mr. Nguyen Anh Tai said Lang Son Customs is also enhancing dissemination to organizations and individuals exporting agricultural products to use the authorized customs agents to carry out export procedures at the border gate in order to avoid legal risks, and ensure professionalism and transparency.