China’s General Administration of Customs has agreed to promptly complete its documentation to sign a protocol for the import of fisheries, including tropical rock lobsters, and some fruits from Vietnam, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam said on Monday.

The Chinese side is considering opening its doors to Vietnamese avocado and passion fruit, the deputy minister underlined.

Nam’s working trip to China from January 14 to 20 was aimed at boosting the two nations’ cooperation in farm produce import and export activities, he said.

The two sides reached a consensus on the reopening of China’s doors to Vietnam’s tropical rock lobsters, with some new terms to be added to the protocol on seafood export, Nam stressed.

The Chinese customs agency also agreed to open its doors to more of Vietnam's main fruits and vegetables.

Also, Nam said that China would consider importing Vietnamese poultry meat.

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam. Photo: Chi Tue / Tuoi Tre

As part of his trip, Nam and his entourage visited Guangdong Province, located in south China, which is home to numerous wholesale markets and major farm produce centers.

The top Vietnamese official, the Chinese provincial leader and the directors of farm produce centers and markets reached a consensus to import Vietnamese agricultural products and form sustainable farm produce logistics chains.

The head of a farm produce center in Shenzhen City under the province said that the center would put aside a big booth to display Vietnam’s One Commune One Product (OCOP) products, according to Nam.

The farm produce center in Shenzhen serves 40 million residents in the city and Hong Kong, so its management board aims to ramp up imports of rice, fruits, and OCOP products from Vietnam.

After the Lunar New Year holiday, due in February, wraps up, a delegation of the Shenzhen-based farm produce center will pay a visit to Vietnam to cooperate with Vietnamese exporters, he added.

After working with several representatives from wholesale markets in Guangdong, the Vietnamese delegation realized that many Vietnamese fruits, mainly durians, are favored by Chinese consumers.

“However, the Chinese authorities warned that if Vietnamese producers and exporters ignore the quality of goods and designs, their products will lose advantages.”

“China might allow some other countries to ship durians to Vietnam’s northern neighbor,” he said.

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