Agreement on reducing quarantine procedures and time to promote the clearance of fresh fruits

– This afternoon (June 2, 2021), at Km0, Huu Nghi International Border Gate, the Plant Quarantine Department of Region 7, following the direction of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, together with other customs force and the army held talks with China’s customs and quarantine authorities to reach an agreement on plant quarantine work between the two sides to shorten the procedure and speed up the clearance time of fresh fruits for export through the border gates of Lang Son province.

At the meeting, the two sides discussed the quarantine activities of fresh fruits imported and exported through border gates in recent years, focusing on discussing the quarantine work for Vietnamese fresh fruits exported to the Chinese market.

Accordingly, Vietnam currently exports nine types of fruits to China, namely dragon fruit, longan, mango, litchi, banana, jackfruit, rambutan, watermelon and mangosteen. However, eight of them are not included in the agreement on phytosanitary, so when exported to China, 100% of the shipment is inspected. It results in longer time for goods clearance, which affects the customs clearance capacity at border gates.

Two sides’ forces held talks at Km0, Huu Nghi International Border Gate

Following some talks and discussion, the two sides basically agreed on a number of contents on plant quarantine among which the quarantine implementation time will be reduced. For example, in terms of fresh lychee, the customs and quarantine authorities of China will carry out the quarantine and inspection according to the probability. It means that not 100% of shipments will be inspected. For some other fruits, the customs and quarantine authorities of China, depending on the types of fruit, will reduce the percentage of shipments subject to inspection.

Also at the meeting, both sides agreed that the Covid-19 epidemic situation is still complicated, so it is necessary to consider the possibility of building a mechanism to combine quarantine agencies of the two sides. It will help the quarantine agencies of the two sides to be active in the quarantine of plants imported and exported through border gates.