Vietnam's Agricultural Trade Faces Major Obstacles: 10 Agricultural Attachés Express Strong Concerns Over Vietnam's New Notification

On October 22, 2024, in Hanoi, Vietnam, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phong Duc Chin met with agricultural Counsellors from the Embassies of the United States, Brazil, the United Kingdom, France, the Republic of Korea, Italy, Spain, Argentina, Denmark and the Netherlands to exchange views on how to promote trade in agricultural products.

During the meeting, the agricultural counsellors of the embassies in Vietnam expressed concern about the Circular No. 04/2024 (04/2024/TT-BNNPTNT) issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, which could slow down the business registration process, interfere with the customs clearance process of goods and affect the opening of the market for new products.

Regarding the registration process of foreign enterprises exporting meat and meat products to Vietnam, Zhou Yuanshi, Director of the Animal Quarantine Department of the Vietnam Veterinary Bureau, pointed out that for non-EU countries, according to relevant regulations, the processing time limit does not exceed 30 working days from the date of receipt of complete and valid files; For EU countries, according to the provisions of the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement, the processing time limit is not more than 45 working days, in strict compliance with the commitments of the agreement.

However, Vietnam faces many difficulties and obstacles in the quarantine of imported animal products due to inconsistent product names. To this end, the Veterinary Authority is updating the list of specific names for animal products to ensure their consistency.

In terms of meat quarantine and imported meat products, Vietnam imported more than 460,000 tons of meat and animal by-products in the first nine months of 2024, an increase of 4.2 percent year-on-year. This data shows that Circular No. 04/2024 has not had a negative impact on the volume of animal product imports to Vietnam.

Since the entry into force of Notification No. 04/2024 on 16 May 2024, 64 consignations (more than 1,489 tonnes) have tested positive for Salmonella, representing 0.61% of the total tested. Testing for Salmonella and E.coli is necessary to ensure food safety.

Mr Nguyen Van Loong, Director General of the Veterinary Department, said that more than 99 per cent of the imported goods tested were negative, and these goods were able to complete import quarantine within 1-3 days. There is absolutely no problem with the quality of the products that have been exported to Vietnam.

As for newly registered enterprises exporting to Vietnam, Director General Nguyen Van Long revealed that the Veterinary Department has received 340 files from more than 20 countries, of which 285 have been processed, accounting for 83%. Some files have not yet been processed due to the need for additional information to ensure compliance with international standards.

The Deputy minister stressed that Vietnam, as one of the world's major exporters of agricultural products, must strictly abide by the strict regulations of other countries in the export process. He hoped that the counsellors and veterinary institutions of the embassies in Vietnam could strengthen cooperation with Vietnamese veterinary institutions to create favorable conditions for the trade of agricultural products between Vietnam and other countries, and answer questions related to the import of meat and meat products, so as to further promote trade cooperation between the two sides.