Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development proposes to temporarily detain star anise shipment at UAE port

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said that immediately after receiving a document from the Vietnam Pepper Association reporting that some items including pepper, star anise, cashew nuts, and cinnamon exported from Vietnam to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) showed signs of trade fraud, the Ministry sent a diplomatic note to the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in Hanoi. At the same time, it requested the Embassy's support in resolving an urgent issue related to trade fraud regarding Vietnamese spices exported to the UAE.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has proposed temporarily detaining a shipment of star anise at a port in the United Arab Emirates.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has proposed to temporarily detain a shipment of star anise at a port in the United Arab Emirates. Specifically, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development received a document from the Vietnam Pepper Association reporting that some items: pepper, star anise, cashew nuts, cinnamon from Vietnam exported to the UAE are showing signs of commercial fraud from a buyer named Bab A1 Rehab Foodstuff Trading LLC, and a bank named Ajman Bank JSC in Dubai, UAE.

Four containers of spices worth nearly $400,000 have now gone missing shortly after arriving at Jebel Ali port in the UAE. A container of star anise is at risk of being lost if Dubai authorities do not promptly stop customs clearance to release the shipment at Jebel Ali port before its scheduled arrival date of July 26, 2023.

In order to prevent commercial fraud in star anise shipments, as well as to track down the fraudulent importer who stole the previous four shipments, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development requested the UAE Embassy in Hanoi to consult with relevant UAE agencies to issue an order to temporarily detain the star anise shipment at the port and investigate the previous incident with the four shipments mentioned above.

Previously, the Vietnam Pepper Association had sent a dispatch to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the State Bank about the urgent situation of the incident and requested the supporting agencies to urgently work with the Dubai authorities to block the buyer. The buyer's representative had obtained the original set of documents for the star anise container before July 26. If the shipping line, the port authority, and the Dubai UAE police were not intervened in time before July 26, the star anise container worth 126,300 USF would certainly be lost like the previous 4 cargo containers.

According to the association, Vietnamese exporters signed a sales contract with a company based in Dubai, UAE. The quantity of goods included 2 containers of pepper, 1 container of cinnamon, 1 container of star anise and 1 container of cashew; the total value of 5 containers of goods was nearly 517,000 USD. The contract specified that the seller would deliver the goods at Jebel Ali Port in Dubai - UAE in June and July 2023.

Vietnamese banks used DHL service to deliver the original documents to Ajman Bank PJSC and Ajman Bank PJSC staff confirmed the successful receipt of all 5 documents for 5 containers. However, for unknown reasons, the original documents were no longer kept at Ajman Bank PJSC, so Vietnamese banks continuously requested Ajman Bank PJSC to make payment but it was not done.

Realizing the delay from the bank and the buyer, the exporting companies checked the shipping system and discovered that 4 containers of goods had arrived at the port, including 2 containers of pepper, 1 container of cinnamon and 1 container of cashew nuts, all of which had been delivered to the person with the original set of documents. However, the exporting companies had not yet received payment from the buyer's bank for the goods of these 4 containers, worth about 400,000 USD.

The star anise container is on the way and is expected to arrive at Jebel Ali Dubai port - UAE on July 26, but the seller has also lost control of the original documents.

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