VietNamNet Bridge – China has kicked off its plan to tighten control over farm produce imports from Vietnam by raising technical barriers.

AQSIQ, the Chinese quality control and quarantine agency, has announced that it found plant protection chemical residue higher than the permitted levels on bananas and dragon fruits imported from Vietnam.

Nafiqad, the Vietnam National Agro Forestry and Fisheries Quality Assurance Department, which received the information from the Chinese agency, has requested the Plant Protection Agency to check the information and strengthen the quality inspection over export consignments.

Tran Ngoc Hiep, Deputy Chair of the Binh Thuan provincial Dragon Fruit Association, said in Thoi bao Kinh te Saigon that the association is checking the information by reviewing this year’s exports.

There are some 20,000 hectares of dragon fruit cultivation in the province, 6,000 hectares of which meet VietGap, the Vietnamese standards on good production practice.

The dragonfruit price in Binh Thuan, which is now in the high harvesting season, is hovering between VND7,000 and VND10,000 per kilo, a 50 percent decrease if compared with two months ago. About 90 percent of Binh Thuan’s dragon fruits are exported to China.

Some analysts commented that China has started its plan to play tricks on Vietnam, the move that Chinese would do sooner or later.

Some days ago, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development warned that China may temporarily close some border gates to prevent Vietnam’s farm produce exports.

Dr. Nguyen Van Nam, former head of the trade institute, also warned that China may play tricks on Vietnam, targeting Vietnam’s seasonal produce.

“They have always been playing tricks on Vietnam, but the tricks may be more extreme in the time to come,” Nam said.

The warnings have come true, and bananas and dragon fruits have suffered first.

Bui Ngoc Son from the World Economics and Politics Institute thinks that China may use some popular tricks to prevent the imports from Vietnam.

It may set new regulations to install new barriers to Vietnamese farm produce, or temporarily close some border gates at the times when Vietnamese farmers are in the high harvesting season.

It may also require stricter examination of the farm produce imported from Vietnam.

If so, Vietnamese farmers would have to throw their farm produce away, because the goods will get rotten after 10-15 days of waiting at the examination stations at the border gates.

Nafiqad in June announced that it discovered an overly high level of plant protection chemical residue in 17 consignments of fruits and vegetables imported from China

The Propargite residue on fresh oranges grown in Guang Xi, China, was found at 27.73 mg per kilo, while the permitted level is 3 mg per kilo only.

The Carbendazim residue on carrots from Guang Xi was found at 2.98 mg per kilo, much higher than the permitted level of 0.2 mg per kilo.

Thanh Mai