Over the past few days, on average, more than 1,000 trucks carrying import and export goods have been cleared daily at the border gates in Lang Son Province, facilitating trade between Vietnam and China.
The border gates at Mong Cai City in the Northern province of Quang Ninh yesterday resumed their operation after a seven-day suspension of customs clearance for the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday.
The General Department of Vietnam Customs and the Ministry of Finance proposed to quickly upgrade some railway stations into international transport stations and switch to officially exporting agricultural products by rail because of its quick and low-cost transportation.
The main reason for the congestion of agricultural products at the Northern border gates has not been determined whether it was because China tightened Covid-19 prevention and control measures or applied strict technical measures on agricultural products exported from Vietnam.
Recently, the export of dragon fruits of Binh Thuan Province through the Chinese market encountered many difficulties because the Northern border gates constantly closed and stopped customs clearance. Currently, dragon fruits are difficult to sell, although the selling price is extremely low, only from VND500-VND2,000 per kg.
The price of dragon fruits in Binh Thuan Province continued to fall drastically to around VND500-VND1,500 per kg. Dragon fruits have ripened, but no traders asked to buy them.
There are only nine border gates and crossings along the Vietnam-China land border operating after the Lunar New Year festival, causing difficulties for customs clearance for goods, the General Department of Vietnam Customs said.
According to an update from the General Department of Vietnam Customs, by 5 p.m. on February 17, the number of vehicles waiting for customs clearance procedures at the border gates of Lang Son Province had not decreased after the Lang Son Department of Industry and Trade announced to temporarily suspend receiving agricultural products for exporting to the Chinese market.
Lang Son Province informed that after the Lunar New Year, the number of trucks carrying agricultural products, mainly fruits, to the Northern border gates had increased again, facing the risk of congestion.
From more than 5,000 trucks of goods and fruits jammed at the border gates in Lang Son Province, on the morning of December 31, the number of vehicles stuck here was only nearly 3,000. The rest of them have returned to the domestic market.
Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh, on the afternoon of December 26, chaired an online meeting with ministries, sectors, and localities on removing difficulties in import and export activities through the Northern border provinces.
The General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC) yesterday informed that many cargo trucks from Vietnam are still jammed in the China side of the Northern border gates and vice versa due to strict control of vehicle flow for Covid-19 prevention purposes.
By December 10, around 4,000 trucks carrying agricultural products and goods had been jammed for having not been able to make customs clearance in Lang Son Province while parking lots were fully occupied.
Farm produce trading in the northern border gates bordering China has increased back but it has been still slow due to strict regulations on pandemic prevention, announced the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Office on March 24.
