Packaging bananas for export in Ba Ria-Vung Tau. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The Protocol recently signed by the VietnameseMinistry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and the General Administrationof Customs China (GACC) will bring opportunities and benefits to Vietnamesebanana growers and exporters, said MARD Minister Le Minh Hoan.
Accordingly, theProtocol on plant quarantine for Vietnamese fresh bananas exported to China is one of the 13 agreements inked by the Vietnamese and Chinese ministries,agencies and localities during Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s visitto China from October 30 to November 1.
Hoan said the Protocolwill ensure the official export of bananas at stable prices, facilitate customsclearance at border gates to ease overload of farm produce and banana productsthere while improving the prestige of Vietnamese bananas.
Under the document, allbanana farming areas and packaging facilities for export to China must beapproved by both the MARD and the GACC. Banana farms must follow Good AgriculturalPractices (GAP) standards while packaging facilities are required to build a origintracing system to ensure food safety standards before export to China.
Vietnamese freshbananas will be exported via all Chinese border gates approved by the GACC,Hoan said.
He added that the MARDwill raise awareness of farmers and packaging facilities about requirements inthe Protocol.
As of 2019, Vietnam was home to 129,550ha of bananas, nearly35,300ha of which was in the Mekong Delta with an output of over 478,800tonnes.
Over 430,000 tonnes ofVietnamese bananas under quarantine were shipped to China in 2020.The volume increased to 574,000 tonnes in 2021 and 591,000 tonnes in the first ninemonths of this year./.
