lychees

Vietnamese fruit being exported to China will have to comply with new origin-tracking regulations as of 1 July, but many of the country’s traders say they’re in the dark about the new requirements.

The trade agreement made between Vietnam and China requires clear origin tracking for longan, lychees, bananas, dragon fruit and watermelons.

China is the largest simple marker for Vietnamese produce, and accounts for roughly 10 per cent of exports, hitting US$12.9 in the first four months of 2009, a rise of 22.4 per cent year-on-year.

It appears that since the agreement was made little information has been given to farmers or exporters on the nature of the requirements, according to a report by Vietnam Net.

Even the Vietnam Fruit Association (Vinafruit) has only been given general information, according to secretary general Nguyen Van Ky, who said he has requested more detail from the the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

Dragon fruit accounts for 85 per cent of traded fruit that comes under the new requirements.

One dragon fruit trader who has managed to register its origins is Bao Thanh Company.

The process took a whole month to complete, said export director Ly Hai Long, because of bureaucratic complexities.

The issue is further complicated by the fact many exporters send fruit to China via intermediaries. Some are even considering cutting out trade of the five fruit varieties to China altogether.

Even governmental agencies seem unclear about how traders should register. Dr Pham Van Du, deputy director of the Cultivation Department under MARD, said his department was assigned the duty of collecting exporters’ information, but he is not sure of the process after that, reported Vietnam Net.

“I think that after receiving the list of exporters, Chinese agencies will verify the information and grant certificates to those enterprises which can meet the requirements. This will be a long process,” said Dr Du.

Nguyen Nhu Tiep, Deputy Head of Seafood, Farm and Forestry Produce Quality Control Department under MARD, told Vietnam Net Chinese authorities had only asked for the names of exporters, and said the quarantine procedures would remain unchanged.

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