China deadline for dairy exporters of infant formula
The clock is ticking for Australian infant formula producers to complete a suite of new regulatory hurdles, in order to be able to keep selling their powder in China after January 1.
So far, it was announced this week, only 40 per cent of the present exporters of formula to China — from all international sources, the Australian proportion is not separately available — have filed applications for the new registrations required.
A spokesman for Australia’s Department of Agriculture and Water Resources told The Australian that the China Food and Drug Administration had not provided a specific timeframe on how long it required to assess an application for brand registration.
But he said: “We have made sure our industry is aware the process can take several months, to ensure they are prepared.”
Dairy manufacturers worldwide must first undergo an audit by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of China, which approves the business to manufacture particular products for the Chinese market, such as liquid and powdered milk.
Once registered and listed with the CNCA, any infant formula products must gain separate registration from the CFDA, effective from January 1.
The Australian Agriculture department said that “failure to get approval from CFDA by January 1 doesn’t mean companies are permanently excluded from China. They will still be able to send product to China once they receive approval.”
But such a failure would mean a hiatus during which many competitors’ products would be available instead. And formula users of course can have no hiatus, they must keep buying.
So far, eight Australian infant formula manufacturers had gained registration from the CNCA, while a further seven were awaiting the outcomes of audits by the regulator, the DAWR spokesman said.
The new requirements were issued last year, and Beijing-based research body China Policy said that at a recent meeting organised by the CFDA the authorities stressed that the grace period would not be extended.
So far, the meeting heard, 665 applications had been received by the CFDA from 75 Chinese and 26 international companies. The organisation had requested further information from 168 of the applications from 42 of the companies, both domestic and foreign.
The first batch of 89 formula products made by 22 companies — chiefly the largest in China and globally — has been announced recently. They include five foreign companies, but as yet no Australian firms. Applicants must provide such extra information within three months — a period which, from now, would mean a conclusion of the application process a perilous few weeks away from the January 1 deadline.
Liu Xuecong, the secretary-general of the China Nutrition and Health Food Association, explained that while the larger, high-volume companies had filed their applications swiftly, smaller firms without the legal experts needed to guide the complex process — especially those that sell chiefly through cross-border e-commerce channels — “have been more hesitant”.
Up to 300 small formula producers in China went out of business last year, and others are following in 2017, with even more set to follow if they are shut-out of the market for failing to gain registration by January 1.
But the DAWR spokesman was optimistic about the new registration process ultimately providing an enhanced opportunity for Australian formula manufacturers, since “they have a well-deserved reputation for producing safe, quality and highly desirable products”.
China has initiated this registration process because its consumers today have about 2000 formula brands from which to choose — resulting in a highly fragmented market and a major challenge for the Chinese regulators, which are expected to rapidly improve the quality and safety of the country’s food products.
The CFDA is thus seeking to improve control over the number of brands and formula produced by each plant, and to ensure that each formula is unique. Labelling is also to be tightened, with the country of the product’s origin to be displayed clearly.
Australia alone provides dozens of brands of formula for sale in China, many of which are made by the same factories, and some of which are not even available back in Australia.
Each formula canning plant — in China or overseas — is being limited to producing three CFDA-approved brands. This has led to intense negotiations between the smaller players, especially, and their suppliers, in order to be chosen as one of those brands.
The plants will consolidate their trade into fewer, larger accounts, mostly run by major, capable brands, and are thus unlikely to suffer as long as they ensure their registrations are completed in time. The main pressure in this process is coming on the brands.
The new rules apply to the channels that supply most of the Chinese market: conventional retail and the giant domestic online platforms.
They will not immediately affect infant formula bought via cross-border e-commerce or from daigou — proxy retail buyers in Australia who send straight to consumers — which is treated temporarily as “personal items”.
Only about 5 per cent of China’s online purchases are made via these latter routes, but they have been used disproportionately by smaller Australian formula brands.
The Chinese authorities tightened cross-border e-commerce regulations in April last year, so that this has become one of the most closely supervised routes to market.
Since daigou largely operate outside both systems, they remain a likely future target for regulators looking to close loopholes.
The prospects for Australian products that correctly negotiate the new paths to Chinese markets remain bright.
A survey of 1000 Chinese online shoppers published last week by FedEx Express found they had each spent almost $1000 each on Australian goods in the previous year. Australian dairy products were viewed as world-class by 58 per cent of those surveyed.
Source: The Australian. Date: 2017-08-15
Seven UK firms get green light to export pork to China
Seven additional UK businesses have secured market access to China to export pork products.
The Chinese authorities have approved exports from five new sites in Suffolk, Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, County Antrim and County Tyrone.
Defra claims the deal could be worth £200m in total and support 1,500 jobs.
Nine producers already export to China, with sales of pork products worth £43m last year.
In a UK first, three of the new businesses given the green light to start trading will be exporting pigs’ trotters.
Northern Ireland
The deal means Northern Ireland will for the first time be able to take advantage of the growing demand for British food and drink in China.
The Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) said shipments would not start for another two to four weeks while the correct administration was put in place.
However, suppliers could start to pack product with a view to exporting it.
Robert Huey, Daera chief veterinary officer, said: “The commencement of pork exports to China, including exports of trotters, will represent a major boost for the local pork industry.
“It will expand markets and secure jobs.”
The Ulster Farmers Union described it as a big win for the industry, as it would add value to carcasses.
Improved returns
UFU pork and bacon chairman Norman Robson added: “Access to this market should boost returns for processors.
“Farmers will now look forward to seeing this added value distributed fairly along the supply chain.”
The deal follows a series of inspections by representatives of China’s Certification and Accreditation Administration (CNCA) team, plus separate checks by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China (AQSIQ).
Source: Farmers Weekly. Date: 2017-08-15
Factory farming in Asia creating global health risks, report warns
The use of antibiotics in factory farms in Asia is set to more than double in just over a decade, with potentially damaging effects on antibiotic resistance around the world.
Factory farming of poultry in Asia is also increasing the threat of bird flu spreading beyond the region, with more deadly strains taking hold, according to a new report from a network of financial investors.
Use of antibiotics in poultry and pig farms will increase by more than 120% in Asiaby 2030, based on current trends. Half of all antibiotics globally are now consumed in China alone. The Chinese meat and animal feed producers New Hope Group and Wen’s Group are now among the 10 biggest animal feed manufacturers in the world.
Industrial meat production is killing our seas. It's time to change our diets
The growth of Asian meat production in intensive units is also producing a rise in greenhouse gas emissions from the food chain, with emissions likely to rise by more than 360m tonnes, the equivalent of running 100 coal-fired power plants for a year. There are knock-on impacts such as deforestation, as China’s need for animal feed is responsible for more than a third of Brazil’s soybean production.
The report, Factory Farming in Asia: Assessing Investment Risks, comes three years after a meat scandal in China, in which suppliers to McDonalds, KFC and others were found to be using dirty meat and products past their sell-by date. It also comes in the midst of a growing food scandal in Europe, which has required the recall of millions of eggs tainted with harmful chemicals, and as concerns have been aired over the impact of Brexit on imports of farm products to the UK. Asian food companies have rapidly expanded their meat production in response to growing populations and the tastes of the rising middle class, but this expansion has come to the detriment of food safety.
Jeremy Coller, of Coller Capital, said: “Investors have a big appetite for the animal protein sector in Asia. But the growth is driven by a boom in factory farming that creates problems like emissions and epidemics, abuse of antibiotics and abuse of labour. Investors must improve the management of sustainability issues in the Asian meat and dairy industries if they want to avoid a nasty bout of financial food poisoning.”
However, the report also found that deploying modern techniques could assist in reducing the impact of factory farming – for instance, by using barcodes to enable consumers to check the provenance of eggs, by reducing greenhouse gases and improving the health of livestock.
Avian flu is an increasing threat, with the latest strain to take hold in China, H7N9, proving more deadly than previous strains. It has already killed 84% more people in the four years since its emergence than the H5N1 strain that came to public attention in 2006. Affected industries in China include suppliers to McDonalds and Walmart. An outbreak of bird flu in South Korea in 2016-17 resulted in the cull of a fifth of the country’s flock.
The growth of Asian meat production in intensive units is producing a rise in greenhouse gas emissions Photograph: China Photos/Getty Images
The authors of the study recommended that investors assess the risks of food production in the assets they hold, as financial firms can persuade the companies they fund to make improvements in their supply chain. But they said awareness among investors was currently too low and should be raised.
Previous food scandals have damaged the finances of multinational companiessuch as McDonalds and KFC. Jaideep Panwar, sustainability and governance manager at APG Asset Management Asia, said: “[This] reminds investors to keep a close eye on the long-term risks of food assets in Asia.
“The evolution of what are now early stage regulatory moves in Asia, supplier conditions introduced by international brands and import restrictions can have an impact on the productivity of Asian producers and their access to markets. Investors will assess the ability of companies in the meat supply chain to position themselves ahead of these risks.”
Melissa Brown, partner at Daobridge Capital in Hong Kong, added: “Few issues are as politically sensitive in Asia as food safety. Yet far too many food sector equities have been priced as if [these] risks don’t matter and that good risk management won’t be recognised in the market.”
The report was published on Monday by the international investment network FAIRR and the Asia Research and Engagement consultancy.
Source: The Guardian. Date: 2017-08-15
Vietnam tops ASEAN in animal feed production
Vietnam is currently ASEAN’s biggest animal feed producer and the tenth biggest in the world, according to the Husbandry Department, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The country has more than 300 animal feed factories and over 200 facilities producing supplementary food, with total capacity of 31 million tonnes per year.
Vietnam’s animal feed output increased from 400,000 tonnes in 1993 to 23.15 million tonnes in 2016, the world’s fastest growth in scale and production over the last 20 years.
The Husbandry Department asked localities to limit the expansion of animal feed factories, especially in the Red River Delta, the southeast and the Mekong Delta.
Source: VNA. Date: 2017-08-15
China's dairy industry endeavors to regain public trust
Wearing a pedometer to ensure a good amount of exercise, getting a manicure regularly to increase comfort levels, listening to romantic background music and showering several times a day to keep clean and cool - this is the life of a cow in Shanghai.
In fact, this not only takes place in one of Bright Dairy's farms in Shanghai's Jinshan district, but also has become a standard practice in many of the large-scale dairy enterprises in China.
Keep fresh
"Good milk must come from close to home," Jin Danjie, head of the Jinshan farm, explained that the world's dairy import and export map shows that in most countries the best fresh milk is largely locally produced.
Imported milk is not always higher quality. In order to allow a longer shelf life for long-distance transport, imported milk is often ultra high temperature (UHT) treated, which decreases the nutrients and enzymes.
"The level of active protein in imported milk is lower than that of domestic milk," said Wang Jiaqi, director of a quality inspection center for dairy production under the Ministry of Agriculture.
Some 154 batches of 10 different brands of imported dairy products from 19 countries failed to meet China's national standards and were returned or destroyed in 2016, Wang said.
The reasons for the failures ranged from having excessive amounts of mould and coliform bacteria, to containing illegal food additives or being past the expiration date.
A report released by the Dairy Association of China and the Ministry of Agriculture last month showed that 99.8 percent of domestically produced fresh milk and 99.5 percent of dairy products checked were up to standard in 2016.
Ensure quality
At Jinshan farm, detailed files record information of cow's birth dates, weights and skin patterns.
"The application of this advanced information management mode helps farm workers monitor the health of cows," Jin said. "The workers can detect abnormal behavior or even diseases at an early stage via data fluctuation.
The farm has also formulated a healthier feed providing optimal nutrition for the cows.
Even during the summer heat wave, the farm smells good. It has invested in machinery to separate solid and liquid waste. Solid manure is turned into organic fertilizer and liquids go directly go into city sewage system.
According to Jin, the average milk production per cow has risen from 6 tons to almost 11 tons per year, reaching the levels of developed countries. The fresh milk quality also meets EU standards.
"We hope that after years of ongoing effort, we will eventually win the trust and support of domestic customers," Jin said.
Build trust
"I prefer to purchase domestically produced fresh milk," said a Shanghai resident surnamed Zhou. "As far as I know, the shorter time from production to use makes the milk fresher and more nutritious."
The longer shelf life of imported dairy products offsets the time taken to transport them from overseas countries and go through customs inspection, said Cao Mingshi, vice secretary-general of the Dairy Association of Shanghai.
"It does not bring any benefits for consumers," Cao said.
"I believe China's dairy industry is on the right track," he said.
Source: China Daily. Date: 2017-08-15
Contract cattle kills sought by beef company, with sights set on Chinese supermarket trade
The demand for cheaper supermarket beef in China has prompted a new Australian joint-venture to directly source and process cattle for boxed export.
While the vertically integrated business model is already used by larger agribusinesses, Spinifex Beef does not own infrastructure or breed its own livestock. Instead it purchases cattle from producers and has the meat processed and packed on contract by existing abattoirs.
Supported by the 3 Mark Group, which already exports chicken and seafood to Asia, the company hopes to capitalise on existing customers to sell its beef.
Spinifex Beef has only sourced cattle from Queensland to date, but hopes to expand further, particularly into northern Australia.
Chief executive Ian Bradford said the company was targeting supermarket clientele as its market segment in China.
"We're after a 500-gram-sized piece of meat, pre-packed here in Australia, labelled here in Australia, sent to China and pulled straight out of the chilled boxed onto the shelf," he said.
"It's a good model given we've got established clientele up there already."
While agribusiness Elders is already well-established in the Chinese market targeting the high-end restaurant trade, companies operating out of northern Australia such as Hancock Pastoral and Australian Agricultural Company have taken steps recently with the intention to export live cattle and boxed beef to China respectively.
However the high price of cattle, and lack of available supply, make it difficult for firms to meet the much-heralded hunger of the Chinese.
Even if Spinifex Beef could source more stock from the north, Mr Bradford said there was a lack of available accredited processors.
"We're hamstrung — we'd like to do a lot more out of the north without a doubt, however it's just a lack of facilities," he said.
"The type of meat that we'd like to produce for the supermarkets is more suited to come from our northern cattle because of the fat content.
"It's a non-fat cut, very similar to the South-East Asian preferred type of meat that is boiled in a pot."
While AACo's Livingstone Beef processing facility near Darwin is currently seeking accreditation to access China, some other beef processors in Australia suffered a setback recently — hit with a temporary export ban.
Mr Bradford said he would like to engage with northern processors to have them slaughter cattle on a contract basis.
"Hopefully on the horizon we can organise a facility or get a facility across the line that can be accredited to go straight into China," he said.
Source: ABC News. Date: 2017-08-14
Agriculture sector does well as China buys more fruits and veggies
Agricultural products exported to China now account for 50 per cent of total border trade flow between the two countries, signifying greater approval from Chinese consumers, officials say.
The surge in cross-border trade of agricultural produce was highlighted last Friday at a forum jointly held by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and the Lạng Sơn People’s Committee.
The forum discussed ways to further increase the flow of Vietnamese fruit and vegetables into Chinese markets via official border trade.
The Agriculture Ministry’s Plants Protection Department (PPD) announced that in total, Việt Nam exported over two million tonnes of fruits and vegetables worth US$1.6 billion to China last year. Corresponding figures for the first seven months of this year are 1.2 million tonnes and $1.3 billion.
Key exports are fresh fruits and vegetables, with strong growth seen in rubber-based products, tapioca, coffee and tea.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade’s (MoIT) Mountainous and Frontier Trade Department (MFTD) said the bilateral agricultural trade surplus is financial boost for Vietnamese farmers, merchants and people living within the border region.
They said the produce being exported to China enjoyed the advantage of having more favourable cultivation conditions, and as such were always welcomed by Chinese buyers.
The MFTD said they have been working tirelessly with their Chinese counterparts to implement enabling policies and regulations to shape the trade flow between the two countries.
These include stricter customs checks, better quality control, transportation and storage infrastructure before clearance, as well as the opening of auxiliary border gates.
As a result, exports of fresh fruits and vegetables to China has been increasing rapidly in quantity and quality, with around 478,514 tonnes of dragon fruit, 223,455 tonnes of watermelon, 240,345 tonnes of longan and 81,198 tonnes of lychee going through border gates in Lạng Sơn Province alone last year.
Corresponding figures so far this year are 273,154 tonnes of dragon fruits, 167,035 tonnes of watermelon and 19,505 tonnes of lychee, worth of $203 million, $75 million and $9.3 million, respectively.
Similar tastes
Huang Tan Mei, Vice Mayor of Chongzuo City in Guangxi Province, said at the forum that thanks to many similarities in tastes and demands between people on both sides of the Vietnamese- Chinese border, trade volume should increase steadily in the years to come.
The annual average agricultural export turnover from Việt Nam to Chongzou is now 1.86 million tonnes through Lạng Sơn border gates alone, Huang said.
She also believed that with the leadership of both countries maintaining tight co-operation through information exchanges and encouraging agricultural production, there was always room for growth as more and more Vietnamese products were gaining Chinese consumers’ trust.
Lý Vinh Quang, Vice Chairman of Lạng Sơn Provincial People’s Committee, said that authorities are committed to supporting businesses and creating favourable conditions for export growth through more transparent rules and procedures.
According to the Tân Thanh Customs Branch under the Lạng Sơn Customs Department, around 250 to 280 truckloads of fresh fruits with cold storage facilities go through the border gates everyday, averaging 2,600 tonnes to 3,200 tonnes.
Each day, across all border gates in Lạng Sơn Province, at least 1,500 trucks carrying Vietnamese agricultural products head for China.
Customs officers have been instructed to give clearance and transit priority to agricultural products, and online customs procedures that can be completed in three to five minutes have helped. Coupled with a newly upgraded parking lots system, storage spaces and customs office sin Lạng Sơn Province, the transport of fruits and vegetables to China has become much easier.
Productivity boost
At a recent, regular meeting of the ministry, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyễn Xuân Cường said over the past seven months, the sector has seen growth in both productivity and export turnover.
Cường said in the the first seven months of 2017, Việt Nam had successfully exported $10.89 billion worth of agricultural products, a year on year increase of 18 per cent. Export of fresh fruits and vegetables fetched $2.03 billion, a year on year increase of 48.9 per cent.
According to a report from the MARD’s Department of Crop Production (DCP), the output of vegetables and fruits has increased and domestic prices have been stable this year. The prices of some fruits have even doubled from last year, like lychee at $1.69 per kilogramme or cashew at $2.2 per kilogramme.
Aquaculture has overcome harsh weather conditions to reach a production of 4 million tonnes in the first seven months, a year on year increase of 5 per cent, accounting for 57.4 per cent of the annual goal.
In the livestock sector, despite earlier pork price fluctuations, output has stabilised since July, with exports to China increasing slightly. Prices of eggs have almost doubled, mostly due to a rising demand for baking in preparation for the upcoming Mid-Autumn festival.
On average, as of July 2017, the number of pigs had dropped by 3.3 per cent, cows increased 2.2 per cent, and that of poultry increased by five per cent from the same period in 2016, on par with the sector’s annual growth rate of 3 per cent.
Agricultural exports have risen and the DCP estimates; market is also on the rise, with the DCP guaranteeing 2017’s annual growth up to 2.05 per cent.
Nonetheless, Cường asked all departments and agencies under the MARD work together on helping solve remaining problems in the sector.
For instance, they should co-operate with the Water Resources Department in fighting floods and landslides, or the Department of Livestock in stabilising domestic meat prices and export meat quality control.
The Minister also stressed that comprehensive steps should taken from the policy level onwards to guarantee stable exports outflows, ensuring quality of produce, product diversification and application of technological advances in both cultivation and post-harvest preservation.
Source: VNS. Date: 2017-08-14
Tech-savvy generation a growing hope for Japan's agriculture sector
Farmers who are younger and business- and tech-savvy are transforming Japan's shrinking agriculture sector with cutting-edge techniques and marketing strategies, giving new hope to an industry in slow decline.
Mr Hiroki Iwasa, a 40-year-old information technology entrepreneur with an MBA, grows strawberries in seven high-tech greenhouses, where computers set the temperature and humidity to optimum growing conditions and ensure the rows of bushes are sprayed with water at precise times.
He markets his Migaki Ichigo brand of strawberries directly to fancy department stores in Tokyo, where they go for as much as 1,000 yen (S$12.40) apiece, as well as to customers in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand, where Japanese produce has an excellent reputation.
Such changes, while small, come as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pushes to reform Japan's hidebound farm industry where small-plot holdings still dominate, the average farmer is aged over 66, and the sector's contribution to the economy has fallen by 25 per cent since its peak in 1984.
They should also make Japan more resilient if the United States tries - as Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has hinted - to prise open markets such as rice and beef that are protected by tariffs.
Mr Iwasa was running an IT company and getting an MBA in Tokyo when his coastal home town of Yamamoto in the north-eastern prefecture of Miyagi, an area famous for strawberries, was hit by the March 2011 tsunami.
He rushed to help with relief efforts and later saw an opportunity to combine his tech skills with the specialised know-how of a local farmer.
He now heads six-year-old GRA Inc, which has 20 full-time employees and 50 part-timers, including four dedicated to managing overseas orders.
"Farmers' intuition and experience may not always result in a good harvest. So it's crucial that we capture that as explicit knowledge in technology and automation, and use that to increase productivity," Mr Iwasa said.
"Nurturing professional farm managers is also needed."
By leasing surrounding land, Mr Iwasa expanded his farm to 2ha, about 10 times the size of an average strawberry farm in Japan.
Such larger-scale agribusinesses, many using new technologies, are the future of Japanese farming, says Miyagi University professor emeritus Kazunuki Ohizumi, who has been studying farming trends in Japan for decades.
"Large-sized farmers are the ones to revitalise Japan's agriculture, which will be changed significantly," he said.
"Of course, IT, robots and artificial intelligence are needed, which will generate jobs to handle such technologies."
Japan is seeing a shift towards company-run farms, whose numbers have jumped from 8,700 in 2005 to 20,800 last year.
The number of young people working in agriculture is slowly rising. The farm industry added just over 23,000 workers under the age of 49 in 2015, up from fewer than 18,000 five years ago.
Source: Reuters. Date: 2017-08-14
‘NI’s approval to export pork to China could be worth in excess of £10 million’
Northern Ireland’s final approval to export pork to China could be worth in excess of £10 million (€11 million) to the local agri-food industry, according to the North’s Chief Veterinary Officer, Robert Huey.
He made the comments as he welcomed the announcement of the approval, which was made by the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) earlier today.
This welcome news follows concerted efforts by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) over time working closely with DEFRA, he said.
“Ministerial visits to China by former Agriculture Ministers, O’Neill and McIlveen, in support of our industry were an essential element of this success story.
“We are also indebted to Madam Wang, Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in Belfast for her support.
“This joined up approach between government, industry and key stakeholders is central to this announcement today,” Huey said.
The new UK export deal with China will bring a £200 million (€220.2 million) boost to the UK food industry and support 1,500 jobs, according to DEFRA.
In Northern Ireland, two slaughterhouses and two cold stores have now been given the green light to export pork.
The commencement of pork exports to China – including exports of trotters – will represent a major boost for the local pork industry, Huey explained.
“It will expand markets and secure jobs. By recommending approval for Northern Ireland, the Chinese authorities have recognised the rigorous standards we have in place to produce our high-quality, safe and wholesome pork.
“This approval to export pork represents a tangible outcome in DAERA’s long-term engagement strategy with China and also represents achievement in securing access to one of the primary new markets outlined in the Going for Growth initiative,” he concluded.
Source: Agriland. Date: 2017-08-14
Vietnamese forum promotes vegetables, fruits trade to China
A forum promoting trade in Vietnamese and Chinese vegetables and fruits took place in the northern border province of Lang Son on August 11.
Speaking at the event, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Ly Vinh Quang said Lang Son has an important geographical location in the Nanning – Lang Son – Hanoi – Hai Phong economic corridor, and has been a gateway for Vietnamese farm produce to access the Chinese market via Tan Thanh, Coc Nam and Huu Nghi border gates.
In 2016, Lang Son’s border gates allowed the export of nearly 478,514 tonnes of dragon fruit; 223,455 tonnes of watermelon; 240,345 tonnes of longan fruit; 81,198 tonnes of litchi; 8,135 tonnes of rambutan; and 17,837 tonnes of dried cashew nuts to China.
Over the past years, the province has opened additional auxiliary border gates such as Na Hinh, Co Sau, Binh Nghi, expanded roads leading to border gates, built infrastructure in border gates, and improved the capacity of goods transit and customs clearance.
Quang took the occasion to commit all possible support to enterprises.
Vice Mayor of Guangxi’s Chongzuo city said Chongzuo borders Lang Son province and shares similar customs and climate, adding that there remains room for bilateral cooperation in cultivation and farm produce processing.
Each year, Vietnam exports 1,866,000 tonnes of farm produce worth 6.89 billion CNY to China via Chongzuo’s border gates. Vietnamese fruits such as litchi, mango and dragon fruits are popular in China.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Border and Mountainous Trade Department said farm produce, including fresh fruits are mostly exported to China via border gates, accounting for more than half of the total. Several commodities saw export growth such as rubber, cassava powder, fisheries, confectionary, coffee and tea.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Plant Protection Agency, Vietnam shipped more than 2 million tonnes of fruits and vegetables worth 1.6 billion USD to China last year. In the past seven months of this year, the country earned over 1.3 billion USD from exporting roughly 1.2 million tonnes of fruits and vegetables to the neighbour.
Source: VNA. Date: 2017-08-14