Authorities in Lang Son Province, northern Vietnam have rejected claims being circulated on social media that some China-bound Vietnamese agricultural products are failing customs clearance at the province’s border gates.

Border gates in Lang Son are operational, Hoang Khanh Duy, deputy head of the management board for the Dong Dang - Lang Son border gate economic zone, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Wednesday afternoon.

Competent forces at these border gates are carrying out customs inspections as usual, especially for fresh Vietnamese fruits, Duy affirmed.

Trailer trucks transporting Vietnamese export items can be cleared to leave the country at six of the province’s 12 border gates, the official said.

These six border gates are Huu Nghi, Tan Thanh, Coc Nam, Chi Ma, Na Hinh, and Dong Dang Stations.

Customs forces in the province process customs clearance procedures for around 1,100-1,200 trucks per day, with some 400-450 vehicles carrying Vietnamese exports.

Over 80 percent of those shipments are local fresh fruits, Duy elaborated, adding that the above-mentioned management board regularly works with authorities in China’s Guangxi to facilitate customs clearance and restore operations at sub-border gates.

However, the Vietnamese official advised local durian and dragon fruit exporters to stay updated on the latest information from authorities in order to properly arrange shipments and avoid incurring additional logistic fees.

Previously, the Plant Protection Department, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, on September 5 asked its subordinate agencies in some south-central and southern provinces such as Binh Thuan, Long An, Tien Giang, and Binh Phuoc to tighten quarantine control over fruit growing regions and fruit packaging facilities that are in charge of shipments to China.

The move was made after the General Administration of Customs of China discovered some China-bound shipments of Vietnamese bananas, mangoes, durians, and dragon fruits were infected with pests like mealybugs.

The ineffective quarantine control has resulted in a number of China-bound shipments failing to meet the Chinese requirements for imported items, thus discrediting Vietnamese exports.

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