Lao Cai: New solutions to unlock imports and exports

	Lao Cai Customs Department applies new methods to transport import-export goods
	Lao Cai Customs reduces revenue collection by VND 124.2 billion
	Lao Cai continues to provide solutions to achieve import-export turnover of US$ 4 billion

Import and export goods at Kim Thanh II international road border gate on April 20. Photo: Anh Tu; Graphics: T. Binh

Plan so that the driver does not have to enter the country

From April 1, when Vietnam implemented Directive 16/CT-TTg on urgent measures to prevent and control Covid-19 including social distancing, the Chinese side also has actions to strengthen management in border areas.

Deputy Head of Lao Cai Economic Zone Authority Ha Duc Thuan said that China had directed from the Central to localities, especially border provinces to tighten cross-border disease control in the recent period. The Chinese side restricted exit the country. In the border gate area, there must be a fixed driving team only allowed to operate in the border gate area. Foreign drivers who enter China must be isolated for 14 days.

“For the specific circumstance, the Lao Cai’s authorities continue to study and develop a management plan to ensure the regulations of the two countries, both effectively prevent the pandemicand ensure the clearance of exported and imported goods,” Ha Duc Thuan said.

On April 17, Lao Cai Economic Zone Authority issued the plan "Managing import-export activities through international road border gate No. 2 (Kim Thanh); Lao Cai railway station border gate in the stage of implementing urgent measures to prevent and control Covid-19”.

The objective is to continue allowing goods exported and imported through international border gates in Lao Cai province during the Covid-19 pandemic, but still ensuring the prevention and control of Covid-19 in accordance with directions of the Government and ministries and branches. At the same time, continue to grasp the spirit of "fighting against epidemics like fighting the enemy"; strengthen discipline, rules, absolutely do not neglect, subjective; accept economic losses to prevent epidemics; best protection of people's health and lives is the ultimate goal. Strictly comply with regulations of the State on the management of import and export activities, entry and exit for people and vehicles traveling across road and railway border gates.

Thuan said that the key content of this plan was to maintain a fixed driving team but drivers of each country would not have to carry out entry procedures on each side.

Lao Cai authorities use the isolating area at the international road border gate No. 2 Kim Thanh with a capacity of about 60 freight vehicles (about 30 cars each side of the border gate) as delivery places of the two countries' drivers (because the Chinese border gate of Ha Khau is not large enough to be a quarantine area).

For this plan, after completing procedures for exporting goods, Vietnamese drivers will bring vehicles and goods into isolation areas to hand over to Chinese drivers to bring goods into Ha Khau border gate to deliver the goods. After delivering the goods, Chinese drivers drove the vehicle into the isolation area to hand over the vehicle to the Vietnamese drivers. Imported goods also dothe same but roles between Vietnamese drivers and Chinese drivers are changed.

Carrying out driver rotation of the two countries in the isolation area, Vietnamese drivers will not have to enter China and Chinese drivers will not have to enter Vietnam, strictly complying with each country's regulations.

Exporting more than 230,000 tonnes of agricultural products

Since the application of the new management plan, import and export activities in the international road border gate Kim Thanh No. 2 have been going relatively smoothly.

From April 17 and earlier, on average daily, international road border gate Kim Thanh No. 2 has about 250 to 290 exported agricultural vehicles. On April 18 (the time of applying the new plan), only about 100 agricultural vehicles were exported. According to Thuan's explanation, due to the first day of application, enterprises did not know and perform smoothly. However, the situation is getting better and gradually stabilised when enterprises have grasped and complied well, for example, on April 20, the number of exported agriculturalproducts raised to 172 units.

Leaders of Lao Cai Economic Zone Authority shared that in order to effectively implement the above plan, it should have good interaction and cooperation of the business community.

From the beginning of 2020 to now, for the complexsituation of the Covid-19 pandemic affecting import-export activities in the northern border area, Lao Cai has emerged as a locality with many initiatives to ensure customs clearance of goods, especially agricultural products.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, Lao Cai has proposed five management options to flexibly apply in a specific period of time to effectively implement the dual objective of "prevention of epidemics and clearance of goods". Notably, this locality also has the initiative of forming a transit driver team, which was highly appreciated by leaders of all levels and some key localities in the north have studied and applied.

As a result, import and export activities in Lao Cai, especially agricultural exports, still took place smoothly amid the pandemic. From the beginning of the year to April 20, at international border gateKim Thanh No. 2, 20,038 turns of agricultural vehicles were exported. Meanwhile, by April 19, total output of exported agricultural products was 233,889 tonnes,a turnover of US$ 110.9 million,the main items were dragon fruits, watermelons, mangoes, jackfruit andbananas.

Notably, there was no congestion of export and import goods in Lao Cai border gate area. “There may bea few dozen to 100 vehicles be shipped lately to carry out export procedures, but they are cleared in the next day, so congestion does not happen in the area of international border gateKim Thanh no. 2,"Thuan added.