05 November2022, Vietnam: Within the framework of the official visit to China by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping together witnessed 13 documents approved by various departments, ministries, branches signed by central and local governments, including a protocol related to banana exports to China.
That is the Protocol on phytosanitary requirements for fresh bananas exported from Vietnam to China between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the General Department of Customs of the People’s Republic of China.
Regarding the signing of the Protocol related to banana exports to China, Minister Le Minh Hoan said that the signing of the Protocol to export bananas to China will bring benefits to banana growers and exporters. banana exports from Vietnam.
Accordingly, the signing of the Protocol will ensure stable and sustainable official banana exports to China; ensure stable output and prices, thereby transforming the agricultural economic structure, bringing benefits to banana growers.
In particular, the good implementation of the contents of the Protocol will reduce the rate of phytosanitary inspection at the border gate, speed up customs clearance, create favorable conditions for exporters, and contribute to reducing congestion at the border gate.
According to Minister Hoan, in order to export bananas to China, bananas must first meet the provisions of the signed Protocol. Specifically, all banana growing areas and packing facilities exported to China must be registered with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, approved by both the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the General Administration of Customs of China.
Under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, all planting areas registered for export to China must develop a quality management and traceability system, and apply Good Agricultural Practices (GAP).
Packers must build a traceability system to ensure that fresh fruit exported to China can be traced back to the growing area that has been granted a code.
The batch of bananas is not infected with 05 species of plant quarantine subjects that China is interested in. At the import border gate of China, inspection according to the provisions of the Protocol.
In addition, export bananas must be unripe bananas, harvested within 10-16 weeks after flowering. In addition, in addition to meeting the content of the Protocol, it must also meet other standards and requirements (such as human health standards, China’s national food safety standards).
The signed Protocol has some new features such as all banana growing areas and packing facilities exported to China must be approved by both the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the General Administration of Customs of China; plantations must apply Good Agricultural Practices (GAP); must ensure monitoring of planting and processes at the packing facility; packers must build a traceability system to ensure that fresh fruit exported to China can be traced back to the growing area that has been granted a code; must conduct phytosanitary sampling 2% and must be in accordance with China’s national food safety standards when imported into China.
To ensure banana exports to China, the Minister recommended that farmers improve the scale of linkages between banana growing households; Applying GAP to create products that ensure food safety, ensure the management of harmful organisms that China cares about are not contaminated on exported bananas, banana growers need to meet the requirements of the Protocol.
The local government is responsible for guiding banana growers to comply with the provisions of the Protocol to ensure stable banana exports, and to guide banana farmers to apply GAP./.
