Food watchdog will tighten management to protect honest businesses
This afternoon, in Hanoi, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan chaired a conference to deploy official durian export to China after Chinese authorities granted permission to import Vietnamese durian.
At the conference, Mr. Hoang Trung, Director of the Plant Protection Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that about 3,000 hectares of planting areas have been granted codes and the output is estimated at 68,000 tons per year. Nevertheless, according to the registration of enterprises so far, the output has reached 1.3 million tons.
Without strict control and compliance with the provisions of the protocol signed between Vietnam and China, it will result in fraud; thereby, the quality of goods is not ensured and violates export regulations. Subsequently, it will tarnish the reputation of Vietnamese agricultural products in the world market.
According to the Plant Protection Department, after the protocol on phytosanitary requirements between the two countries was signed, the Chinese side approved the recognition of a list of 51 growing area codes and 25 packing facility codes for the planting areas of Vietnamese durian.
However, currently, only 7 percent of the total durian growing area of Vietnam is for export. Some 55 growing area codes and packing facilities that China has not approved have neither completed documents nor met technical requirements.
At the conference, the head of the agriculture industry affirmed that without tight management, the durian export is very potential yet it is necessary to pay attention to risks, especially frauds.
Mr. Nguyen Dinh Muoi, Deputy General Director of Vina T&T Group - an enterprise preparing to export a shipment of about 100 tons of durian to the Chinese market, suggested guiding businesses on residues of permitted preservatives which are allowed to use in export durian to best meet the requirements from the export market.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan proposed building a long-term development strategy for the next 5 to 10 years, aiming at export markets with high value. To do this, it is necessary to build trust and responsibility between businesses and farmers with the support of state management agencies.
Up to now, Vietnam has exported durian to more than 20 markets around the world. Good quality Vietnamese durian is favored by consumers in many countries and Vietnamese produce has competitive prices in comparison with some countries such as Thailand and Malaysia.
