Springtime at the border crossing

Vehicles carrying import and export goods passing through Huu Nghi International Border Gate.

– In 2023, trade activities at the province's border gates were vibrant and achieved positive results. Accordingly, not only did the import and export turnover through the province's border gates grow strongly compared to the previous year, but the average number of vehicles passing through each day also reached the same level as in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Positive results

Huu Nghi International Border Gate is one of the largest land border gates in the country, always bustling and busy. This is evidenced by the large number of trucks carrying goods passing through the gate during the days leading up to the Lunar New Year, which remains consistently high. On average, nearly 700 trucks carrying import and export goods clear customs each day.

On the eve of the New Year, Ms. Ha Thi Kim Dung, Head of the Huu Nghi International Border Gate Customs Sub-Department, happily announced: In 2023, the sub-department processed customs procedures for 5,663 businesses across all types of import and export activities, with a total turnover of over 40.3 billion USD. Of these, 2,857 businesses opened import and export declarations at the sub-department, with a turnover of over 2.9 billion USD, an increase of more than 120% compared to 2022; the tax revenue from import and export activities of the sub-department also reached nearly 4.2 trillion VND, an increase of nearly 35% compared to 2022, accounting for approximately 90% of the total revenue of the entire Lang Son Customs Department.

In 2023, the total value of goods imported and exported through the province's border gates reached over 50 billion USD, of which the value of goods declared at the Lang Son Customs Department reached nearly 4.8 billion USD, an increase of 56.2% compared to 2022. The province's target for 2024 is to achieve a total import and export value of goods declared at the provincial customs agency of 5 billion USD, and total tax revenue from import and export activities of 5,000 billion VND or more.

Similar to Huu Nghi International Border Gate, in the days leading up to Tet (Lunar New Year), the volume of trucks carrying agricultural products and fresh fruits for import and export through Tan Thanh Border Gate reaches 350-400 vehicles per day. Tan Thanh is the land border gate with the highest import and export value of agricultural products and fruits in the Northern region. Therefore, as Tet approaches, the volume of trucks carrying agricultural products, especially fresh fruits, increases significantly. In 2023, the import and export value of goods through the border gate reached over 1.2 billion USD, an increase of nearly 70% compared to 2022 (accounting for 95% of the total import and export value of agricultural products and fruits).

Customs officers at the Tan Thanh Border Gate Customs Sub-department inspect and monitor vehicles carrying export goods through the border gate.

Besides the two aforementioned border gates, during the Lunar New Year holiday, five other border gates in the province continued to operate smoothly, with increasing efficiency and volume of goods cleared. At times, the number of trucks carrying goods cleared through all seven border gates in a single day reached approximately 1,400 vehicles.

Mr. Dinh Trung Kien, Deputy Director in charge of the Border Gate Management Center, Dong Dang - Lang Son Border Economic Zone Management Board, said: The number of trucks carrying goods through the province's border gates at this time is equal to that of 2019 - the time before the COVID-19 pandemic. This result shows that the mechanisms and policies of the State and the province have created a more open business environment for import and export activities, thus attracting many import and export businesses to Lang Son. In addition, the efforts of departments, agencies, and forces at the border gates in 2023 with the goal of creating the most favorable conditions for import and export businesses have also contributed significantly to the results in the field of import and export of goods through the province.

With increased customs clearance efficiency and smooth customs operations at border gates during the period leading up to the Lunar New Year, the happiest people are the businesses operating in the import-export sector.

Mr. Do Xuan Linh, representative of LTK Lang Son Logistics Co., Ltd., enthusiastically stated: "At the end of the year, especially leading up to Tet (Lunar New Year), the number of import and export contracts increases. The support from the authorities at the border gate has helped businesses carry out shipments smoothly. All of the company's import and export goods have been cleared quickly without any problems. This not only helps businesses increase their efficiency but also helps them reduce and avoid unnecessary losses."

The right solutions.

The above results show that the border gates in the province have been and continue to be important gateways connecting and facilitating trade between Vietnam and China in particular, as well as between ASEAN countries and China in general.

Mr. Hoang Khanh Duy, Deputy Head of the Management Board of the Dong Dang - Lang Son Border Economic Zone, said: In 2023, the border economy continued to develop, creating momentum to boost the province's economic growth. This is demonstrated by the continued investment in the infrastructure of the border economic zone and border areas of the province, including the transportation system, inter-agency offices and official residences for functional forces, the expansion of wharves and warehouses at border gates, and the increasing development of import and export support services, effectively meeting the needs of businesses, organizations, and individuals involved in import and export activities in the area. At the same time, exchanges and diplomatic activities between sectors, localities, and functional forces of both sides (Lang Son, Vietnam – Guangxi, China) are regularly maintained... This contributes to creating favorable conditions for import and export activities of businesses, increasing customs clearance capacity, and attracting more and more import and export businesses to operate at border gates in the province.

In addition to continuing to invest in infrastructure at border gates, the province has also actively implemented the "digitalization" of border gate activities. The effective implementation of the Digital Border Gate Platform has brought about a breakthrough, thereby creating a favorable environment for import and export customs clearance. Accordingly, after nearly two years of implementing the Digital Border Gate Platform, more than 1,865 businesses have registered accounts on the platform, and 100% of vehicles carrying import and export goods are declared online by businesses before entering the border gates and processed on the platform. In 2023 alone, at Huu Nghi International Border Gate and Tan Thanh Border Gate, more than 330,000 vehicles were declared by businesses on the Digital Border Gate Platform.

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Dai, Director of the Department of Industry and Trade, shared: "The results of import and export of goods through the province in the past period have shown many positive signs. To achieve these results, in 2023, the province implemented many mechanisms and policies to maximize the province's potential and advantages to boost import and export activities. In particular, solutions that create the most favorable conditions for Vietnamese businesses and goods to be exported through the province's border gates have helped increase the trade surplus. A concrete example is the export turnover in 2023 reaching nearly 2.75 billion USD, an increase of 166.9% compared to 2022 (imports reached 2.05 billion USD)."

Based on the results of 2023 and the momentum of the early days of the new year, it is believed that in 2024, with the flexibility in implementing solutions to promote customs clearance activities through the province's border gates, the import and export turnover of goods through the province's border gates will continue to increase even further.

Source: https://baolangson.vn/kinh-te/642804-sac-xuan-noi-cua-khau.html