Sharing with Tien Phong, the general director of a banana export enterprise in Gia Lai said that yesterday (September 9), the enterprise transported 2 containers of bananas, equivalent to about 40 tons of bananas to Cat Lai port, Ho Chi Minh City. received notice of temporary export suspension. The reason was given by the Plant Quarantine Department Region 2, Ho Chi Minh City packaging base code was temporarily suspended for violating plant protection regulations.
Businesses were very surprised because they did not know what happened. We contacted Chinese customers to ask if the product had ever been found to be infected with insects or pests. They answered that they had never because if so, Chinese Customs would have returned the goods or destroyed them. .
Enterprises that contacted the leaders of the Plant Quarantine Sub-department of Region 2 were also confirmed that the enterprise's shipments have always been of guaranteed quality. The Department has not received reports that the shipment had any problems with plant quarantine. "The suspension is only done at the request of the Plant Protection Department," this person said.
Not only businesses in Gia Lai, many businesses export bananas, jackfruit, durian, dragon fruit, mango... in the provinces of Dong Nai, Dak Lak, Tay Ninh, Binh Thuan, Binh Phuoc, Tay Ninh, Tien Giang... also I was still stunned because I also received the same notice on September 9.
Lead a business durian export in Tien Giang shared that on the morning of September 9, after taking the goods to the port to prepare for export to China, the business received information that the packaging code was temporarily suspended from export.
“We were very surprised and asked the Tien Giang Department of Agriculture and Rural Development again. The Department was also surprised and it was not until noon that it confirmed this information was correct according to the direction of the Plant Protection Department and then sent the official dispatch to the business," the business representative said.
This person also said that even the Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development were still surprised, not to mention that the Chinese side had not announced anything yet. The Plant Protection Department's sudden stop of quarantine of agricultural exports caught businesses off guard.
“Yesterday alone, dozens of businesses reported a similar situation with nearly thousands of tons of bananas, jackfruit, dragon fruit, and durian suspended. At that time, we were confused because the goods were already loaded into the container. Now that we can't export, agricultural products will be damaged and the damage will be huge" - informed a business leader in Tien Giang.
Haven't received warning yet, stopped exporting
According to information Tien Phong understand, the reason the shipments on September 9 were suddenly suspended from export comes from the official dispatch of the Plant Protection Department sent to 11 Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development including: Dong Nai, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Tay Ninh, Vinh Long , Long An, Binh Thuan, Tien Giang, Binh Phuoc, Dong Thap, Tra Vinh and Plant Quarantine branches, signed by Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Huong - Deputy Director of Plant Protection Department - on September 5.
–> See more: 11 Official Dispatch September 5, 2023: Suspension of OR-PH codes (China)
Accordingly, the content of the official dispatch announced that the Plant Protection Department received a warning from China to detect a number of Vietnamese banana, mango, jackfruit, durian and dragon fruit batches. contaminated with plant quarantine objects. Therefore, this unit recommends that functional units not carry out plant quarantine procedures for export with shipments belonging to the growing area code and establishment code on the list.
In this list, there are 74 growing area codes, packaging facilities reporting violations for the first time and requesting to temporarily suspend exports; There are 47 codes proposed to be revoked. These are mostly large agricultural export enterprises in Vietnam, such as: Dung Thai Son Import-Export Trading Joint Stock Company, Huy Long An Co., Ltd., Sofia Vietnam International Trading Co., Ltd., Vking Import Export Company…
It is worth mentioning that the official dispatch did not specify when the ban or recall started and how long it lasted, causing dozens of containers of agricultural products transported by businesses to the port to be delayed.
“We also question why, if there is a violation, the Department does not issue a warning in advance for businesses to review, or notify a period of time in advance for businesses to prepare. Only when the goods arrive at the port do businesses know. A container of bananas owned by the business is worth nearly 3 billion VND. Not to mention, what will happen to the upcoming series of fruits entering the main season. This is no different from blocking the life of the business", one banana business in Dong Nai said angrily.
Talking to Tien Phong on September 10, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Huong - Deputy Plant Protection Department, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development - said that the notification of violating growing area codes and contributing establishments is regularly carried out by the Department. , periodically about every 3 months.
According to regulations, plant protection organizations of countries will notify each other about violations in the field of plant protection. The reason the Department proposed to temporarily suspend exports is to review the causes of violations and take corrective measures.
Responding to the fact that the Department's dispatch came so quickly that businesses couldn't keep up, Ms. Huong said: "The agency's notification to businesses will depend on each country. For businesses that are proposed to be recalled, this is not the first time the Department has notified them. For first-time businesses, the Department has sent official dispatches to the Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development and their branches, these units have experience in handling them."
When asked why the Department did not send a warning in advance so that businesses could have time to review and prepare in case of violation and directly request to stop exporting, Ms. Huong said: "This avoids a situation that affects the reputation of the company." credit for Vietnamese agricultural products. Immediately after receiving the feedback, the Department stepped in to remove problems for businesses. After that, all shipments were exported normally."
According to the latest information Reporter Tien Phong Understanding and grasping the information reflected by the business community about the sudden "whistle blowing" of exports, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan directed and requested the Plant Protection Department to immediately handle the situation. Shipments go through normal export procedures.
Source: Pioneers' newspaper
