Great potential in the development of agricultural trade cooperation

According to Chinese Customs data, in 2022, the border gates of Guangxi province will import the most Vietnamese agricultural products among localities with land borders with Vietnam. Specifically, the turnover reached Yuan 5.85 billion, an increase of 86.4% compared to 2021, accounting for 14.5% of the total number of agricultural products imported into China from Vietnam. Moreover, in just the first four months of this year, the border gates of Guangxi province imported Yuan 2.49 billion of Vietnamese agricultural products, up 44.7% over the same period in 2022, accounting for 19.7% of the total number of agricultural products imported from Vietnam into China. These figures show that agricultural trade between China and Vietnam is developing strongly, while Guangxi is the largest gateway to China's agricultural imports.

"Due to the peak season of fruits such as durian and mango, the clearance situation at border gates shows signs of overload, exceeding the capacity of border gate areas. However, with the two sides' efforts, the customs clearance status of goods is still maintained normally. However, to get the above results, both sides had to strengthen human resources and promote deeper cooperation to improve customs clearance capacity for border gates," said Vuong Vi Bang, Director of Nam Ninh Customs Department.

In that context, the Director of Nam Ninh Customs suggested that the two sides continue strengthening exchanges and establishing a closer cooperative relationship. At the same time, strengthen research to put the smart border gate system into pilot operation. Currently, the Chinese side has proposed establishing a smart customs system, and the Vietnamese side has launched a digital border gate system, which is very similar. And continue to facilitate trade in agricultural products and promote the development of Vietnam - China trade. "In which the potential for cooperation in agricultural trade between the two countries is great," said Mr Vuong Vi Bang.

Durian is a fruit with high export value and competitiveness in the Chinese market. Photo: Internet.

Expanding import and export scale at all 9 pairs of border gates

In order to make customs clearance more convenient, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam suggested that more information be exchanged between units at the border gate to make customs clearance more convenient. "There are several issues we need to discuss directly, such as standards for importing and exporting agricultural products; customs clearance mechanism, issuing QR codes to control the number of goods; and the policies for the two sides to coordinate policies. In addition, the issue of prioritizing early clearance for several agricultural products cannot wait long, affecting quality," suggested Deputy Minister Tran Thanh Nam.

In particular, the flow of goods from both countries through the Guangxi area is very high, so the pressure of customs clearance is very great. Therefore, to promptly solve problems at the border gate, the Deputy Minister suggested that the Nam Ninh Customs side establishes a contact point for the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Nam Ninh Customs Department to contact each other, minimizing text exchanges easily.

Besides, Guangxi has borders with 4 provinces of Vietnam with 9 pairs of border gates, but only 6 of them are allowed to import and export vegetables and fruits. To reduce pressure on traditional border gates, avoid congestion, reduce costs, and bring convenience to both sides, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam proposed that Nam Ninh Customs consider expanding the scale of fruit and vegetable import and export to all 9 pairs of border gates.

In addition, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development also proposed the establishment of the Vietnam - Guangxi Agricultural Enterprises Association. Thereby gathering businesses with import and export needs of the two countries to connect and manage more conveniently. Because at present, the demand for the cooperation of agricultural enterprises between the two countries is very great, for example, during fruit harvest seasons such as the litchi season in Bac Giang and Hai Duong. Establishing the association will help the authorities get closer to businesses, better orient and support to boost import and export turnover.

In addition, it is also necessary to establish Vietnam - China business chains in the field of logistics, especially cold chains, with the control of the two countries authorities to serve the import and export of agricultural products, ensuring quality, and reduce costs in trade.