Technical barriers when exporting fruit to China and world market
08/07/2014
TBT Office Tien Giang
In the context of global economic integration today, the tariffs will be reduced and increasingly technical barriers will be erected more water for domestic trade protectionism. Therefore, to minimize risks in export activities, businesses need to pay attention to find out information about the technical barriers of the export market to pass the measure.
For Vietnam, due to advantages tropical fruits should be one of the key export commodities. Every year, the country harvested nearly 7 million tons of fruit, including the Mekong Delta accounts for over 46% of fruit production throughout the country with a variety of valuable exports such as pineapple, grapefruit, mango, dragon fruit, label, rambutan, ... The fruit import market was mainly the United States, EU, Russia, Japan, Taiwan, China and some countries in Southeast Asia.
Technical barriers to the Chinese market
China is a major market for Vietnam's fresh fruit (about 80% of the fresh fruit export Vietnam). The fruit is exported to China dragon fruit, lychee, longan, watermelon, banana, ...
For years, most traders Vietnam have in common is the notion that China easy market, but on the actual consumer demand in China has and is changing (especially in urban areas), especially after WTO accession. They are turning consumers high quality products, clean; their quarantine barriers increasingly tighter ... Vietnam Business not catch this change to prepare, some of our items (such as sickness) hardly exported to China because not satisfy the requirements of their food hygiene.
In the integration trend, Vietnam and China signed agreements on animal and plant quarantine in 2008, initially to facilitate Vietnam fruit in the export process in China. For fruit exports, the first important issue is to have the Agreement between animal and plant quarantine exporting countries and importing countries. If not, the fruit can be stopped and any time for violation of quarantine barriers of importing countries.
From 01/7/2009, between Vietnam and China started building mechanism and roadmap for bilateral control of quality, food safety, the application of controlled radical measures, access shipments originating in the event of problems with quarantine and food safety for plant products import and export between the two countries. Specifically for fruit products, the Chinese side will provide a list of farms / orchards and packing facility all the fruits of China's exports to Vietnam; conversely, the Vietnam provides a list of farms / orchards and packing base 5 fruits (dragon fruit, lychee, banana, watermelon and label) Vietnam's exports to China.
The 5 requirements for fruits of Vietnam and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development full instructions at dispatch dated 25/5/2009 1382/BNN-QLCL number, as follows:
- Register to the list: The base, businesses must register with the Department of Crop Production - Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (through the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development) to be included in the list of farms / farming areas and establishments production and packaging of Vietnam fruit exports to China.
- On Plant Quarantine: 5 fruits of Vietnam exports to China must be competent bodies of Vietnam quarantine at the request of China (contact quarantine agencies of the Department of Plant Protection - Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to guide).
- In terms of food safety norms: 5 fruits of Vietnam said on exports to China to ensure the safety norms prescribed by food hygiene standards for additives used food (GB 2760-2007) of China as follows:
+ Quality 2.4-acetic diclorophenoxy axid (anti rot), maximum usage
multi 0.01g/kg, ≤ 2.00mg/kg residue.
+ Compounds: sulfur dioxide, potassium metabisulphite, sodium metabisulphite, sodium hydrogen sulfite, sodium hyposulfite used for fresh fruit treated surfaces, use the maximum amount 0.05g/kg.
+ Compounds: sulfur dioxide, potassium metabisulphite, sodium metabisulphite, sodium hydrogen sulfite, sodium hyposulfite used for dried fruit, use the maximum amount of 0.1g/kg.
According to the Bureau of Quality Management and Agriculture, forestry and fishery (Nafiqad), the procedure is relatively simple: after signing up for the list, companies just keep on packing crates full of fruit exports such information : name, business address, date of manufacture, use, brand, region / domain planting fruits (such label Tien Giang) ... together with phytosanitary certification by the Plant Protection Department of Vietnam South accordance with the regulations of China on safety norms as requested above is met. Indeed requirements traceability is the main part of the contents of GlobalGAP standards (quality, safety and traceability of the source) that the world is commonly applied.
However, until the last day 17-7, Nafiqad said although Vietnam has sent registration list for the first round of China (from 29-6), and the function of our bodies constantly public letter urging China to send the list growing and packing facility fruits of their exports to China but still no reply (!).
Technical barriers of the U.S. and EU markets
United States is forecast national demand for imported fruits largest, followed by the EU. It is the second most potential market and also the most difficult.
May 7-2008, after an official visit to the U.S. by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Vietnam dragon fruit is allowed to export to the U.S. market with three requirements: Achieving quality, hygiene and food safety standards U.S.; U.S. import agency certified products can not be pests and irradiation sterilization.
Before dragon fruit importer, the United States has lost a long time to survey the application of hygiene standards of food safety from farm to U.S. packing plants. The U.S. results basically agree with the process of clean fruit production facilities have been certified GAP Europe. However, the U.S. also require packaging processes dragon Vietnam absolute must continuous harvest until bringing goods into the car, all right in the cold chain. In addition, shipments entering the U.S. must have a barcode to ensure origin for easy traceability.
So far, exports of dragon fruit from Vietnam to America was not informed by the difficulties faced charges irradiated dragon fruit exports currently very high (more than 4 times the price irradiated dragon fruit in Thailand), increases in input costs, which businesses caught in the stage of price negotiations with foreign partners.
Recently, the Plant Protection Department - Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said Vietnam has an agreement with the U.S. to export more 3 fruits to the U.S. market, which is the rambutan fruit, fruit labels and canvas left. However, this was the original agreement, the two sides still have to carry out further procedures are emerging.
As for the EU, is a large market, each year the EU imported nearly 80 million tons of fresh fruit, which imported from developing countries are weighted 40%, but now Vietnam is only a small amount left crops to the market. The EU market has a huge demand for green grapefruit, followed by the type of mango, pineapple, mangosteen, dragon fruit, longan, banana, ...
The fruit products exported to the EU wants to comply with several mandatory regulations such as general food law, compliance certification standards, maximum residue limits, and other regulations on phytosanitary and crop Protection ... The safety regulations of EU food hygiene is always equal to or even higher than any market in the world.
Food Safety Authority European oversees compliance with regulations on food safety, the general principles and other provisions of the origin of the product. Under the common law of European food products, all vegetables and fruits are imported into the EU are required to have a Certificate of conformity, compliance with the maximum limits of residues of plant protection products, the objective standard immune diseases and insects, the regulations as solid, brightness, design, color, size, specification, packing, storage.
Suggested solutions
In a nutshell, the new trend, technical barriers of the country, especially in developed countries will increasingly stricter. Some three years ago, HACCP is considered the most progressive standards require that buyers, today they have gone further, should become HACCP standards for granted. Similarly, GlobalGAP this is only the minimum requirement but the basic requirements are indispensable. GAP need to ensure fruit is produced in accordance with appropriate environmental and engineering process to create safe products, can meet the stringent standards of residues of plant protection products, to allow other components to ensure safety in accordance with the regulations of the country.
According to statistics, there are currently only about 11're now a member of Vinafruit are GlobalGAP certified by IMO, Control Union as SGS or dragon Cooperative Ham Minh Dragon Fruit Farm Hai Ninh, The dragon Hoang Hau dragon Fruit company Bao Thanh, Duy Lan dragon Fruit cooperative - Binh Thuan, Vinh Kim cooperative breast milk - Tien Giang, mango Song Hau Farm, My Hoa Nam Roi cooperative - Vinh Long, herbs Industry Agricultural Corporation Dalat food, organic vegetables organic company - Lam Dong.
Although demand for the fruit of the great water, fruit output of Vietnam so much, but our production did not meet the requirements of foreign importers, we do not have the ability to solve large orders that only solves the small quantity orders. The regional specialty fruit production GlobalGAP standard MRD is facing many challenges such as limited production, area expansion difficult, ...
Therefore, to increase fruit exports to world markets need practical assistance of the State in the planning stage, intensive regions GAP standard applies, should be consumed purchasing system fruit guarantee amount for large orders. Besides, the state needs to attract and train the expert knowledge of the SPS (Sanitary and PhytoSanitory measure - Hygiene measures and Plant Health Inspection Service) to update with new information, new standards and SPS business consultancy; complete continuing legal system of SPS and relevant laws, regulations issued in GAP, the fruit and vegetable processing; propagation law, the legal text of the SPS on the mass media with many diverse forms. On the other hand, it should be held regularly inspecting and checking on businesses and markets to detect violations of manufacturing and trading of all kinds of plant protection products, fertilizers, seeds and commodities, real counterfeit products, poor quality, containing toxic substances.
For the enterprises should strictly abide by the international commitments of the SPS, to disclose quality standards or regulation conformity, conformance commodities, strong branding of clean vegetables, safety and well-controlled internal processes of production and processing; regularly monitor timely information related to SPS from the importers as well as plant protection agencies in the country; institutional investors the key raw material (contracts with growers, suppliers and monitoring the implementation of the right to use the same processes, agricultural materials, harvest time, traceability ...)
If the content is done well, certainly fruit exports to Vietnam will be the world market is increasing, making Vietnam become the center of the fruit export Asia.