Nearly 2,000 durian containers congested: Deputy Prime Minister requests clarification

(Dan Tri) - Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha requested the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to urgently clarify the cause and responsibility for the congestion of nearly 2,000 durian containers due to the disruption of export testing activities.

The Government Office has just sent an official dispatch to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and the People's Committee of Dak Lak province to convey Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha's direction on handling press reports related to nearly 2,000 containers of exported durian being congested due to the temporary suspension of many laboratories testing for O-yellow and Cadmium substances.

Accordingly, the Deputy Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to preside over and coordinate with relevant agencies to urgently inspect and clearly identify the causes and responsibilities of organizations and individuals for interrupting testing activities, affecting the progress of durian exports.

At the same time, strengthen the management and supervision of laboratory activities; review and perfect related legal regulations and administrative procedures.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment needs to coordinate with relevant agencies and localities to speed up the approval, renewal or licensing of new laboratories serving durian exports, ensuring that they meet technical, environmental and international standards.

The results of monitoring and supervision of the handling must be reported to the Deputy Prime Minister before November 7.

The Deputy Prime Minister also assigned the People's Committees of the provinces to focus on directing the implementation of laboratory licensing work, proactively coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to guide facilities to review and complete the technical conditions of laboratories in the area. From there, complete the application for extension, re-registration or new licensing, so as not to interrupt testing activities for export.

Durian in Tien Giang (Photo: Bao Ky).

Previously, on October 27, a leader of the Dak Lak Province Durian Association confirmed that the designated laboratories to test for Cadmium and O-yellow chemical residues in exported durian had resumed operations after a temporary suspension for system maintenance and upgrade.

"Laboratories are back in operation, many containers have been inspected and exported. Dak Lak still has 40,000-50,000 tons of unharvested durian in the communes of Krong Nang, Krong Buk, and Ea H'leo. If the laboratories do not operate in time, durian will not be eligible for export, greatly affecting the industry," said the leader of the Durian Association.

According to the director of an agricultural export enterprise in Dak Lak, for more than 10 days now, testing laboratories have stopped operating, making durian export enterprises feel like they are "sitting on fire", forced to refrigerate durian, which is very costly.

"Due to the long waiting time, we had to consider the option of peeling the segments and dividing the durians into retail sales to minimize losses. Some units even had poor preservation, leading to the durians being damaged. Hearing that the inspection units were back in operation, we were very happy and hoped that the export would continue smoothly," the director shared.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/kinh-doanh/gan-2000-container-sau-rieng-un-u-pho-thu-tuong-yeu-cau-lam-ro-20251031160429586.htm