Vietnamese agricultural products for export still have difficulty with quality problems

The above comment was made by Mr. Le Thanh Hoa - Deputy Director of the Department of Quality, Processing and Market Development (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) - at the seminar "Improving capacity to comply with standards and quality." "Vietnam's fruit value chain   to promote exports" organized by this ministry in coordination with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) on September 11.

Sharing at the conference, Ms. Le Thi Thanh Thao - UNIDO representative in Vietnam - said agricultural exporters in developing countries still face challenges to meet and comply with EU requirements. international markets. 

Specifically, lengthy procedures and rejection at the border gate due to non-compliance with the importing country's requirements lead to large financial losses for manufacturers.

Mr. Baharamakian Nima - project director of UNIDO's quality and standards program - said the total number of cases of Vietnamese food and animal feed being rejected in 5 markets (Australia, China, EU - 28, Japan, USA) has decreased in the period 2010 - 2020, specifically from 632 to 537 cases.

Statistics show that the Chinese and US markets have the largest rejection rates with 35% and 31%. The EU market accounts for nearly 1/5 (18%) of the total number of rejected cases of export goods with HS code 07 (vegetables) of Vietnam.

According to UNIDO, the total number of rejection cases of vegetables and some edible tubers, tubers and roots exported from Vietnam to 5  markets  has increased significantly from 11 cases in 2012 to 75 cases in 2020. . 

However, this is most likely due to a sharp increase in the volume of HS 07 products exported from Vietnam to five import markets.

According to Mr. Baharamakian Nima, the main causes of Vietnam's product rejections in 2020 are bacterial contamination (22%), hygiene control conditions (18%), veterinary drug residues (13%) , labeling (14%), pesticide residues (10%), and additives (7%).

"Vietnam needs to strengthen its capacity in assessment techniques as well as  safety and hygiene control to comply with international regulations. In addition, it is necessary to support advertising and training for farmers and businesses to perform well." international standards such as Global GAP, ISO 22000, HACCP...", Mr. Baharamakian Nima recommended.

Meanwhile, talking to Tuoi Tre Online, Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen - general secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association - said that China and other countries have repeatedly warned of violations of the quality of exported fruits but we are still not yet strong in recalling and handling violating units.

"Vietnam needs stronger solutions such as suspending or even preventing businesses from exporting violations. Like in Thailand, many cases can be prosecuted and imprisoned, which is why the country's violation rate is usually lower than Vietnam," Mr. Nguyen said.

Many experts believe that the agricultural industry needs to focus more on implementing traceability by improving food chain transparency.

Source: tuoitrenews.vn