Export markets are tightening food safety.
Vietnam's agricultural export market is currently expanding with impressive numbers, however, all export markets have strict regulations on food safety and pesticide residues. In the long term, these regulations will be increasingly raised, so awareness of users also needs to be raised to ensure compliance with regulations not only domestically but also in export markets.
Ms. Pham Thi Lam Phuong, Import-Export Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that Vietnam's agricultural, forestry and fishery exports to markets are also facing some difficulties. Vietnam's agricultural products are mainly frozen, raw or semi-processed, and highly processed products are still few. Regarding seafood exported to the EU, since 2017, Vietnam has received a "yellow card" warning from the European Commission on IUU.
The EU has strict requirements for imported seafood products (certificates, chain control, etc.).
Regarding the opening of seafood products to countries with large import demand, Mr. Dang Van Vinh, Deputy Head of Food Safety Department, NAFIQPM informed that currently, there are 25 countries and territories requiring assessment and certification of food safety of exported seafood; there are 13 countries and territories requiring the establishment of a list of seafood processing and export facilities.
Mr. Vinh also shared some of the difficulties that Vietnamese seafood exports are facing in major import markets. For example, in the EU, currently, only export processing facilities on the list recognized by the EU are allowed to export.
The EU has strict requirements for imported products (certificates, chain control), and requires that tuna products soaked in brine can only be used for the canning industry...
In the Brazilian market, this market only allows the use of phosphate additives outside the ice coating for seafood products (including fish and shrimp). There is no regulation on heat treatment according to each shrimp disease index, but a general regulation on heat treatment for each type of product...
Or in the Saudi Arabia market, a temporary suspension is being applied to all farmed seafood from Vietnam.
Fruits and vegetables exported to all markets are being tightened in terms of food safety and agricultural product quality.
As for fruit and vegetable exports, although fruit and vegetable export turnover continues to grow positively (estimated to reach 3.4 billion USD in the first half of 2024, up 28% over the same period in 2023), we still cannot be assured of sustainable export activities in this industry in the context that key markets increasingly require Vietnam's fruit and vegetable products to further improve in quality.
Because currently, not only China (Vietnam's main fruit and vegetable export market, accounting for 61.4% of total export value) but many other countries in the world are also tightening the quality of imported agricultural products.
In particular, China has raised its standards for controlling imported goods in terms of origin, food safety quality, and animal and plant diseases. Meanwhile, recently, some types of fruits and vegetables exported to this market have been continuously warned about their quality.
Or in June 2024, the EU increased the frequency and tightened inspections of chili and dragon fruit imported from Vietnam. This is bad news for the above two products as well as Vietnamese agricultural products in this large and demanding market.
To export safe agricultural products, we must definitely "green"
In response to such increased inspection frequency, according to Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen, General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, if enterprises repeatedly violate residue issues, they may be subject to higher inspection frequency or even banned from exporting to the EU. This will also affect the consumption process and competitiveness of Vietnamese chili and dragon fruit products in the EU.
It is worth mentioning that Vietnamese export enterprises have difficulty updating and complying with new regulations due to lack of information or "barriers" set up by countries that are too strict, making it difficult for them to adapt in time in the context of a sharp decline in orders.
“Greening” is no longer an option but a mandatory factor if businesses in the agricultural products industry do not want to risk “losing orders” to competitors.
Also believing that the increased food safety requirements from the European market are an additional challenge for businesses, Mr. Huynh Canh, Chairman of the Binh Thuan Province Dragon Fruit Association, said that businesses and dragon fruit growers will be able to adjust to adapt.
The problem Mr. Canh is concerned about is that a number of export enterprises are purchasing dragon fruit that does not meet the standards set by the import market, leading to impacts on the entire industry.
This, according to Mr. Canh, happened with dragon fruit, when the importer discovered that a few small batches of dragon fruit did not meet standards, causing the EU to put them on the warning list, greatly affecting the domestic industry.
Regarding warnings about agricultural and food products from the EU market, experts also said that the EU considers imported goods regardless of large or small volumes, so a shipment of a few dozen kilograms in violation is as affected as a shipment of a whole container.
“The number of violating batches is very small compared to the total export volume of agricultural products and food of Vietnam, but the impact is not small. Just not controlling a small batch can affect the whole industry,” said Dr. Ngo Xuan Nam, Deputy Director of the Vietnam SPS Office. He said that recently, only 7 batches of dragon fruit, equivalent to 400-1,800kg of dragon fruit, were found to not meet the requirements, and the EU applied border supervision for this product, increasing from 20% to 30%.
The representative of SPS Vietnam noted that the number of EU notifications and warnings to Vietnam has increased significantly recently. Specifically, in the first 6 months of this year, Vietnam received 57 warnings from the EU, an increase of more than 80% compared to the same period last year.
Notably, according to Mr. Nam, there have been many cases where Vietnam has received heartbreaking warnings. For example, a shipment of chili peppers exported to the EU weighed only 38kg but was found to exceed the safety threshold, causing the EU to apply control measures at the border gate of up to 50% of all chili peppers from Vietnam.
The above stories show that the collective efforts of the entire industry can be "down the drain" just because of a few substandard shipments; there is even a risk of being banned from export, affecting the entire industry.
Therefore, according to experts, the only way to export agricultural products sustainably is to practice good agricultural production. Farmers and businesses must work together to meet market requirements.
According to Mr. Ngo Xuan Nam, if you want to export sustainably, the only way is to comply with market regulations. Therefore, “greening” is no longer an option but a mandatory factor if businesses in the agricultural products industry do not want to risk “losing orders” to competitors.
SPECIALIZED PAGE WITH THE COORDINATION OF MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Comment (0)