Trucks loaded with fruits and seafood moving to the borders to enter China. Vietnamese exports to China in February rose by 33% month-on-month (Photo: VNA) Speaking at a recent trade promotion forum, he opined that China's dismantlingof its COVID-19 lockdowns had given a big push to bilateral trade, with Vietnameseexports to China in February rising by 33% month-on-month.
The Mong Cai-Dongxing Border Gate was immediately reopened after the good newscame in, leading to scores of traders flocking to the gate to look for Chinesepartners.
The gate plays a prominent role in bilateral trade because it commerciallyconnects Quang Ninh province with China's Guangxi province. The latter is thethird-largest importer of Vietnamese seafood, importing 75% of its annualfishery consumption.
Regarding processed agricultural products, he said Vietnamese exporters whowant to enter the Chinese market must hand in two dossiers, one to a Vietnameseagency and the other to a Chinese agency.
However, some exporters have skipped steps by submitting their dossier to theChinese agency only, leading to the situation that the Vietnamese side isunable to verify the submitted dossier at the request of its Chinesecounterpart.
The deputy minister called on exporters to strictly follow the procedure tosave themselves from redoing the process. He also suggested the formation of ateam tasked with keeping agricultural producers well-informed about the Chinesemarket.
A representative of the Department of Quality Management, Processing, andMarket Development under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Developmentdescribed Quang Ninh as a commercial gateway to Asian markets for Chinesetraders.
Guangxi is one of the major importers of Vietnamese agricultural and fisheryproducts. The province alone accounts for 47.5% of China's total imports fromVietnam.
The representative urged Vietnamese producers to focus more on trade promotionto fully unlock the trade potential between the two countries.
To Van Quang, vice chairman of the Vietnam-China Business Association inGuangxi, mentioned his Dong Dang Industrial Investment Company, which waspushing hard for a Vietnamese seafood trading centre in Fangchenggang City.
He said its efforts have paid off as 600,000 tonnes of cold storeage warehouseare being built by the municipal authorities. Once finished, the warehousewould allow Vietnamese seafood to enter China in larger quantities and withlower lead times.
He also revealed that the company plans to import 35,000 tonnes of durians,120,000 tonnes of purple sweet potatoes, and certain quantities of seafood toChina this year.
Tran Thi Bich Ngoc, head of the Management Board, Mong Cai International BorderGate, estimated that Vietnamese agricultural and fishery exports to China viathe gate grew by around 60% year by year.
From her perspective, Vietnamese producers should reshape their mindset tobring more changes to bilateral trade. She said they need to be morecommercially cooperative to not lose out on trade opportunities.
She also underlined the importance of digital technologies, includinge-commerce, in trade promotion. She said e-commerce would allow producers tomarket their products beyond borders.
Lastly, the head urged the producers to embrace novel production techniques andwell-organised management to keep their products up to standard.
Under Order No.248, Vietnamese food producers are required to register with theCIFER system to be eligible for exports to China.
Some participants at the forum complained that China had changed theregistration procedures in the system, resulting in longer times to have theircodes approved.
However, Ngo Xuan Nam, deputy director of the Sanitary and PhytosanitaryNotification Authority and Enquiry Point (SPS Office), claimed that China hadnot made any such changes to the system since the enactment of Order No.248.
Even if China had wanted to revise the procedures for business registration andfood safety, the process would never be a mean feat as the country has toconsult other WTO members to get the job done.
The deputy director said his office had held talks with Chinese authorities,requesting them to speed up the process of approving Vietnamese producers.
Deputy Minister Nam suggested Quang Ninh's authorities and their Chinese counterpartshold a live trade promotion forum in Dongxing city as soon as possible toenable bilateral discussion on business matching activities and supply chaindevelopment./.
VNA
