Vietnam - China increase cooperation to promote agricultural trade

NDO - From May 27-29, a working delegation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment led by Minister Do Duc Duy went to China to work with the General Department of Customs of this country to remove difficulties in exporting agricultural and aquatic products, especially durian, and prepare for the upcoming lychee crop.

During this visit, Minister of Agriculture and Environment Do Duc Duy held talks with Ms. Ton Mai Quan, Director General of the General Administration of Customs of China. At the meeting, the leaders of the two agencies reached a high consensus on a number of solutions to strengthen cooperation in the field of trade and open markets for agricultural, forestry and fishery products of the two countries, emphasizing:

The two sides will strengthen cooperation to promptly resolve arising issues and obstacles in the import and export of agricultural, forestry and fishery products between the two countries, including in the immediate future, coordinating to resolve obstacles in the export of durian from Vietnam to China and coordinating solutions to ensure smooth lychee import and export activities in 2025.

During this visit, Minister of Agriculture and Environment Do Duc Duy held talks with Ms. Ton Mai Quan, Director General of the General Administration of Customs of China.

The two sides cooperate closely to promote trade and open the market for Vietnamese agricultural, forestry and fishery products exported to China. Accordingly, the technical level of the two sides accelerates the content negotiation process, completes procedures and soon signs protocols on the export of agricultural, forestry and fishery products.

The two sides studied and considered the possibility of establishing an annual ministerial-level meeting mechanism on a rotational basis between the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and the General Administration of Customs of China to strengthen cooperative relations and promptly handle difficulties and problems arising in agricultural, forestry and fishery trade activities between the two countries.

In recent years, the cooperative relationship between the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (formerly the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development ) and the General Administration of Customs of China has been continuously strengthened and put into practice. Especially, during the complicated developments of the Covid-19 pandemic, the two sides have closely coordinated and flexibly handled to ensure that trade in agricultural, forestry and fishery products between the two countries is not interrupted.

In addition, the two sides have flexibly applied online assessment measures, signed indirect protocols... to open the market for products such as black jelly, bird's nest, durian, dragon fruit...

According to statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customs, in 2024, the import-export turnover of agricultural, forestry and fishery products between Vietnam and China will reach 17.8 billion USD (up 14.6% over the same period in 2023). Of which, the export of agricultural, forestry and fishery products to the Chinese market will reach 13.5 billion USD (up 14.3% over the same period in 2023), and imports are estimated at 4.3 billion USD (up 21% over the same period in 2023). The export turnover of agricultural, forestry and fishery products between Vietnam and China in the first 4 months of 2025 is estimated at 5.07 billion USD (up 3.7% over the same period in 2024).

Up to now, the two sides have signed 28 Memorandums of Understanding/Protocols on the export and import of agricultural, forestry and fishery products between the two countries, demonstrating the close cooperation and efforts of both sides. Currently, many agricultural, forestry and fishery products from Vietnam have been exported to China. These include: 15 fruit and vegetable products (watermelon, mangosteen, black jelly, durian, fresh banana, sweet potato, chili, passion fruit, dragon fruit, rambutan, mango, lychee, longan, jackfruit); crocodiles, farmed monkeys, bird's nests, fish meal and some products serving the production and processing of animal feed; dairy products and various types of seafood.

At the talks, the two leaders agreed to promote cooperation in agricultural trade and market opening in the coming time.

At the meeting, the two leaders agreed to promote cooperation in the field of agricultural trade and market opening in the coming time, accordingly: Establishing a "green agricultural channel" mechanism, prioritizing fast customs clearance at the border gate for fresh fruit products during the peak harvest season; Increasing working hours at the border gate during the season (including weekends and outside of office hours) to meet the increased demand for customs clearance.

China will soon send a working group to conduct field inspections of grapefruit and lemons from Vietnam to develop a draft export protocol. The two sides will soon complete procedures to sign a protocol on Vietnamese exploited aquatic products and fresh aquatic products exported to China. Consider signing new protocols to replace expired protocols and in accordance with the current situation.

Vietnam has removed all obstacles in the export of sturgeon and dog and cat food from China to Vietnam.

The two sides agreed to establish a mechanism for annual, rotating ministerial meetings. The two sides will establish a joint working group on food safety and quality inspection to promote cooperation and promptly handle arising issues.

During this visit, the delegation visited, worked and sought cooperation opportunities with Tan Phat Dia Agricultural Products Distribution Center, which is the largest agricultural product importer and distributor in China.

In addition, Minister Do Duc Duy also visited and worked with the China Supply and Marketing Group, a large-scale agricultural distribution industrial group in China. Currently, the Group has total assets of nearly 200 billion yuan, 11 subsidiaries and 32,800 employees operating in a number of fields such as: fertilizer and pesticide trading; Food storage and trading services; Cotton trading and services; Agricultural product distribution, agricultural product wholesale markets...

Surveying distribution centers, agricultural wholesale markets, companies and corporations operating in the agricultural, forestry and fishery sector will create a good premise to guide businesses and localities to seek cooperation and investment opportunities in the agricultural sector.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/viet-nam-trung-quoc-tang-hop-tac-thuc-day-thuong-mai-nong-san-post882911.html