The Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) have agreed to ramp up cooperation in the field of agricultural trade, opening the door for more Vietnamese farm products to enter the lucrative market of China.

This consensus was reached during talks held between Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Hoang Trung and Zhao Zenglian, deputy director of the GACC, on June 6.

Addressing the event, Trung highlighted the cooperative relationship that exists between the two sides over the past years, noting that during the heights of the COVID-19 pandemic, both sides have closely coordinated in removing hurdles to ensure the smooth trade of ago-forestry-fisheries products.

They have flexibly applied assessment measures via online platforms and signed protocols via indirect manner to open the market for products such as black jelly, bird's nest, durian, and dragon fruit, he noted.

Representatives of the two sides emphasised that they would soon complete procedures towards signing a protocol on plant quarantine requirements for fresh Vietnamese coconut and frozen durian to enter the Chinese market.

With regard to passion fruit and chili products that have been exported on a pilot basis, the two sides agreed to accelerate the completion of procedures for signing these two documents in the near future.

Furthermore, the MARD and GACC will co-ordinate efforts to complete the protocol on the export of crocodiles, raw bird's nests, poultry, and other aquatic products from Vietnam to China.

The Chinese side said they have assigned relevant agencies to review and promptly process the registration dossiers for export by Vietnamese enterprises in order to facilitate greater trade co-operation in agricultural, forestry, and aquatic products.

Moreover, representatives from both sides agreed on the plan to remove obstacles for Chinese sturgeon exports to the Vietnamese market. Accordingly, the northern neighbour will support the Vietnamese side in enhancing its capacity to quarantine sturgeon species.

They also signed a protocol on quarantine requirements for monkeys to be exported from Vietnam to China for research purposes and witnessed the initialing of the conclusion of negotiations on the protocol regarding phytosanitary requirements for the export of fresh coconuts from Vietnam to China.

VOV