Ministry to create favourable conditions for agricultural firms to promote exports
Ministry to create favourable conditions for agricultural firms to promote exports
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said it would create favourable conditions for firms to promote exports of agricultural products by reducing the number of product categories subject to quarantine inspection as well as applying technology to speed up the customs clearance process. 
Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Hiep said there were still problems in the certification of quarantine inspections of plants and agricultural products for export and import, even though the number of harmonised system (HS) codes which were subject to checks was reduced to 157 from 300.
Further efforts would be made to reduce the number of HS codes of plant and agricultural products subjected to quarantine checks, Hiep said, adding that the time for inspections to be carried out must also be cut by using advanced technology to aid businesses.
In international practice, fresh products are subject to quarantine inspection while processed products are subject to food safety checks.
Currently, international practices are applied for plant products while animal products still have to undergo quarantine inspection for both fresh and processed products.
Hiep said the ministry asked the Department of Animal Health to review the process for the application of international practices to ensure that products are safe and enterprises have the best environment to operate in.
Nguyen Hoai Nam, Deputy General Secretary of the Viet Nam Seafood Exporters and Producers, said seafood companies wished to receive support from the Government to remove the European Commission’s 'yellow card' as soon as possible.
According to Nguyen Thanh Son, President of the Animal Husbandry Association of Viet Nam, many instructions to implement the Law on Husbandry, which took effect from the beginning of 2020, must be clarified. Son said several standards were not appropriate to reality, which wasted time and increased costs for enterprises.
Tran Quang Trung, President of the Viet Nam Dairy Association, urged the ministry to consider removing the regulation on quarantine checks on imported processed dairy products.
Vu Thi Mai Hien, Deputy Director of the ministry’s Legal Department, said some regulations about certification for enterprises were being reviewed.
According to Hiep, the ministry would also enhance the administrative reforms and improve the attitude of civil servants to create favourable conditions for enterprises.
