Tracing the origin of agricultural products is currently an important factor in determining whether agricultural products can participate in the chain, providing safe agricultural products for processing and exporting enterprises.
This has created trust and confidence among consumers when choosing Vietnamese agricultural products. The Mekong Delta is a major rice, seafood and fruit granary for export, so effective management of the origin of agricultural products is increasingly necessary.
Cargo protection card
According to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, up to now, the whole country has 6,883 export growing area codes granted for 25 products (distributed in 54/63 provinces and cities) to 11 markets; in which, the Mekong Delta has the largest number of growing area codes in the country with 3,975 codes (accounting for 57%) in operation. Dong Thap alone has 2,469 growing area codes granted, the largest in the country, Tien Giang has 528 growing area codes and packaging facilities, Ben Tre has 84 growing area codes and packaging facilities.
According to Mr. Nguyen Van Man, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tien Giang province, the province's 528 growing area codes and packing facility codes comply with current regulations; of which, the growing area codes granted to the Chinese market are 183, covering an area of nearly 19,151 hectares, with 7 types of crops, including: Jackfruit, dragon fruit, mango, watermelon, rambutan, longan and durian. Tien Giang has 307 packing facility codes granted for export, specifically the Chinese market has 299 codes, and demanding markets have 8 codes.
To strictly manage growing area codes and packaging facility codes, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tien Giang province has established interdisciplinary inspection teams to check compliance with regulations on the use and maintenance of conditions and requirements of growing area codes and packaging facility codes.
In addition, Tien Giang is piloting the development of a database software for managing durian growing areas in some key durian growing localities. Accordingly, the software displays information about durian growing areas on maps, serving as a basis for expanding the mapping of the entire durian growing area and key crops of the province.
In Ben Tre, the province currently has 41 growing areas with 84 codes. Some agricultural products have established growing area codes such as green coconut, green-skinned grapefruit, rambutan, mango, durian... and have been exported to Europe, the United States, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Korea, Thailand and China; of which there are 41 export growing areas, with 84 codes in operation, covering an area of over 671 hectares. Green-skinned grapefruit has 23 growing areas with 51 codes. Rambutan has 3 growing areas with 6 codes. Mango has 4 growing areas with 16 codes. Durian has 10 growing areas with 10 codes. Longan has 1 growing area with 1 code.
According to Mr. Vo Van Nam, Head of the Ben Tre Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection, the growing area code and the packing facility code are like cards that ensure the traceability of exported agricultural products. Therefore, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Ben Tre has issued an official dispatch on strengthening the management of growing area codes and packing facility codes, clearly stating the roles of relevant parties in management; in which, localities monitor the production situation in the growing area and manage growing area codes in the area.
In particular, when there are unstable production and consumption links or signs of dishonesty in the use of growing area codes and packaging facility codes, report to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Ben Tre through the provincial Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection for coordination in resolving...
Compliance
For today's smart consumers, concerns about traceability and food safety when choosing a certain type of food are inevitable, because the trend of putting health first and preventing diseases for people, as well as the living environment, has become an urgent requirement.
According to the representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the essentiality of product transparency will be a factor in the selection of agricultural and food products. Each product sold has a traceability code printed on the packaging. When consumers want to know full information about the purchased item, trace back from the final product to the original place of production, and review each stage of processing and distribution, they can use that code to check. They can type the traceability code on the product's website to find information; or use a smartphone with traceability software installed to scan the traceability code printed on the product's packaging. Not only that, the current trend is that importers around the world always want to know where the product is produced and where it goes.
This is even more evident in markets importing agricultural products from other countries; including Vietnam. Mr. Do Thanh Hiep, Director of Hoa Le Dragon Fruit Cooperative, Ham Thuan Bac, Binh Thuan province, said that when buying a dragon fruit from Hoa Le Cooperative, consumers will be able to access chain information such as production batch, production unit, types of fertilizers and pesticides applied to the plant, time of use and production unit, types of certificates... or transaction information about harvest date, production, packaging, expiry date... All are logged in real time, date and time with clear numbers. This is the fastest factor to convince domestic and international consumers when Hoa Le dragon fruit is selected.
A representative of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Binh Thuan shared that, up to now, Binh Thuan has had many enterprises and cooperatives effectively implementing product branding in the market associated with labeling product origin such as Hoa Le Dragon Fruit Cooperative, seafood products of Hai Nam Limited Liability Company, Phan Thiet fish sauce, etc.
It can be seen that products with traceability stamps will contribute to protecting the brand, enhancing the value of businesses and cooperatives. Thereby increasing competitiveness, stimulating consumers to buy, and maximizing investment costs. This is also the foundation for exporting goods internationally, protecting the community, and boycotting counterfeit and fake goods from the Vietnamese market.
According to VNA
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