Vietnam stands ready to export its first batch of sweet potatoes to China

The Plant Protection Bureau of Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said the bureau had received a notice from China's General Administration of Customs (GACC) on the results of online inspections by Vietnamese enterprises exporting sweet potatoes to China, the Viet Cong Electronic News reported.

Accordingly, 70 sweet potato growing zones and 13 sweet potato packers in Vietnam have been approved to export sweet potatoes to China. This will serve as an important booster and contribute to increasing Viet Nam's total agricultural exports to this potential market.

On November 9, 2022, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam and the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) signed a protocol on plant quarantine requirements for Vietnamese sweet potato exports to China, said Hoang Chung, director of the Plant Protection Bureau. As a key organ guiding the procedures of plant quarantine and negotiating the opening of agricultural products market, the Bureau has actively cooperated with the General Administration of Customs of China after the signing of the protocol to make preparations for export. To guide local publicity activities to ensure the safe, orderly and sustainable development of sweet potato production activities.

The Plant Protection Department of Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has also made plans to export the first batch of sweet potato containers to China. Huang stressed the need to ensure that sweet potatoes exported to China have phytosanitary certificates and relevant information on origin and packaging, as well as meeting food hygiene and safety requirements. In particular, it will not be infected with diseases and pests of concern to the Chinese side.

Currently, about 100,000 hectares of sweet potato are planted in Vietnam, with an annual output of 1.2 million to 1.3 million tons. It can be seen that Vietnamese sweet potato production is sufficient and can be exported.