Vietnamese farm products, including frozen seafood and agricultural items, have been stuck at ports and northern border gates since mid-November after China recently tightened its inspection policies for COVID-19 control over imported goods.

This move comes following the northern neighbour detecting the SARS-CoV-2 virus on the packaging of German pork, Brazilian beef, and Indian fish, that was in the process of being imported into China.

Truong Dinh Hoe, general secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), said that since November 10 competent authorities operating the Chinese border gates have begun to apply strict quarantine measures relating to fumigation and origin traceability on frozen seafood shipments imported into their major ports.

In line with the latest Chinese regulations, all frozen seafood shipments, including tra (pangasius) fish fillets, are required to have samples taken from their packaging for COVID-19 inspection at ports.

Despite this, there remains plenty of unclear and specific instructions relating to customs clearance procedures, thereby causing large quantities of goods to get stuck at ports.

The Chinese move has put Vietnamese businesses at a disadvantage, causing their operational costs to rise while export prices have seen sharp declines, Hoe said. At present, the export price of pangasius fillets has endured a fall from US$2.3 per kilo to under US$2 per kilo.

Hoe therefore advised seafood companies to remain calm and avoid lowering prices, a factor which would negatively affect exports to the Chinese market and the global seafood industry in general.

Domestic enterprises have also been encouraged to actively negotiate with partners in an effort to adjust import and export rules, so as to resume their exports to the Chinese market.