China Halves Vietnamese Agriculture Imports, Institutes Import Restrictions
6 April 2009 Viet Nam News reports that due to the global economic downturn, China has cut imports of several Vietnamese agricultural products nearly in half since mid-March. The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) said China recently imported roughly 800 tonnes each of cassava starch, peanuts, beans, and sesame — down from a previous 1,500 tonnes. MoIT says the global economy has caused difficulties among China’s food processing and confectionery industries, which use the imported products, in finding a market.
Chinese importers have also begun paying closer attention to product quality due to the import restrictions. New Chinese regulations on imports of fresh agricultural products are expected to be difficult for exporters to meet. Fresh agricultural products exported to China will now be required to pass a more
stringent quality control process and be packed well in clearly marked packaging that describes the details of the place of origin, date of processing, and other quality specifications. Beginning July 1, fresh fruit such as watermelon, longans, lychees, bananas, and dragon fruit exported to China will need certificates of origin from the orchards. The fruits would also need to be packed by registered packaging manufacturers.
Total trade between the two countries reached nearly US $19.5 billion last year, up 28.8% over the previous year, according to MoIT statistics.
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