Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has asked governmental agencies to help facilitate agro-product exports since it faced a decline in the first four months of this year.

The leader has requested that the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) forms an inter-sector working team on exports and imports while speeding up negotiations on trade agreements.

MoIT was asked to increase its promotional activities and better manage cross-border import and export activities.

The Deputy PM has asked the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to review regulations concerning quarantine procedures and to revise unsuitable regulations.

He has also ordered the State Bank of Vietnam to examine proposals providing incentivised credit packages for enterprises that export agro-products.

The Ministry of Finance will examine added value taxes and other tariffs on tea, semi-processed rubber and spare parts used in hi-tech products.

Hai asked the Ministry of Transport to examine the problem of overloaded vehicles transporting agro-product exports and to control fees charged by shipping companies.

In the January-April period, the export of agro-forestry-aquatic products was estimated at 8.5 billion USD, a decrease of 5.1 percent year on year.-VNA