China tightens control over fruit imports from Vietnam

China has required stricter procedures for Vietnamese fruits to be exported to this country, including food safety certificates, codes of origin traceability, technical requirements, and phytosanitary certification, VnExpress reported.

Hung, owner of three hectares under durian cultivation following VietGAP standards said that, two years ago, traders came to buy his fruits to export to China regardless of quality. However, over the last two months, they have only bought durians stamped with codes of origin traceability.

“China has issued new regulations to tighten imports, therefore, I joined in the local co-operative to have my durians meet the export requirements. We are collecting information to have our bulk of durians stamped with traceability,” Hung said.

Accordingly, in the first three months of this year, veggies and fruits in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong were urgently packaged and stamped with traceability codes for selling to China.

Reports from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development showed that export value of veggies and fruits in March was estimated at US$294 billion, resulting in cumulative turnover of US$879 billion in the first three months of 2019, down 9.3% year on year.

According to the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, the first months of the year saw a sharp decline in Vietnamese fruit and vegetable exports due to the prolonged Lunar New Year holiday and the coincidence with the Chinese harvest time of many fruits such as dragon fruit and watermelon.

Besides, Vietnamese vegetables and fruits can only be exported to China through the official Vietnam-China land border, at the checkpoints designated by Chinese competent authority.