Illustrative photo (Source: nongnghiep.vn)

He attributed it to the fact that there is still room to grow for Vietnamese aquatic product exports in the Chinese market.

The demand of the 1.4-billion-people market will recover quickly when restrictions on entertainment services and tourism activities are loosened after the COVID-19 pandemic is put under control, Lai said.

Vietnamese enterprises who involved in this sector are rapidly responding to information and market needs and meeting the regulations of the Chinese market. Recently, China Customs has granted codes for many Vietnamese enterprises to enable them to participate in exporting aquatic products to this market, he said.

The exports of aquatic products recorded a year-on-year increase of 117.6 percent in the first four months of this year, accounting for nearly 9 percent of China’s total aquatic product imports.

According to the official, some batches of aquatic products imported from Vietnam, including tra fish (pangasius), to China were found to contain SARS-CoV-2 virus on their packaging. To tackle the issue, the Vietnamese Trade Office in Beijing has regularly maintained contact with relevant units of China Customs to exchange information and notify domestic authorised agencies to minimise damage to enterprises.

Lai emphasised that although the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam has been basically controlled, domestic enterprises must continue to strictly follow the regulations of the government and relevant agencies on COVID-19 prevention and control; guidelines of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the World Health Organisation (WHO) and China on prevention of SARS-CoV-2 virus infection during the process of production and packaging.

It is necessary for them to strengthen control on quality, food safety and hygiene to ensure that Vietnamese aquatic products are no longer warned of being infected with the virus or violating Chinese food safety standards, he said.