Speed up the process of issuing "passports" for durian exports

Vietnam has risen to No. 1 position in durian exports to China in the first 2 months of this year. Illustration photo: VNA.

There are 708 licensed durian growing area codes

According to Chinese regulations, durian imported into this country is required to have product traceability information. At the same time, request the competent authority of the exporting country to provide information on the growing area code and packaging facility code for Chinese authorities.

The latest updated data from the General Administration of Customs of China shows that Vietnam currently has 876 durian growing area codes and durian packing facility codes eligible for export to the country of billions of people. Of these, there are 708 licensed growing area codes.

According to the Plant Protection Department (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), there are currently 23 localities in Vietnam that have been granted durian growing area codes by China to qualify for official export to this country.

Among them, Tien Giang province, known as the durian "capital" of the Mekong Delta and the whole country, has the largest number of licensed growing area codes with 155 codes; following is Lam Dong and Dak Lak with the number of licensed codes of 96 and 68, respectively.

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Binh Phuoc province said that in the province, there have just been 27 more durian growing area codes licensed by the General Department of Customs of China, bringing the total number of durian growing area codes in the province to 65, ranked fourth place in the country in terms of number of durian growing area codes.

Accordingly, 27 Binh Phuoc durian growing area codes have just been licensed with an area of 701.5 hectares and an output of 14,030 tons. The total number of durian growing area codes in the province was increased to 65 codes with an area of 2,412 hectares.

Currently, the total area of durian trees in the province is 5,300 hectares, with an output of 14,800 tons. Localities with large areas of durian trees include Bu Dang, Phu Rieng, Bu Gia Map, Loc Ninh districts; of which, Dona durian accounts for 61 percent, Ri6 31 percent, Chin Hoa 5 percent, and other varieties 4.3 percent.

“Currently, supervision and management of export codes is conducted by Binh Phuoc province every six months and reported to the Plant Protection Department for information to the importing country to maintain the planting area code and packaging facility. 95 percent of Binh Phuoc's fresh durian output is exported to the Chinese market, the rest is consumed in the domestic market.

Binh Phuoc province has also built 31 durian growing chains, including 20 businesses participating in linking with 29 cooperatives to build growing area codes in the province. Binh Phuoc is aiming to develop durian growing area to 8,000 - 10,000 hectares in the direction of high-tech agriculture, linking the supply chain of products for export," Binh Phuoc Department of Agriculture and Rural Development added.

Meanwhile, the localities with the least number of licensed growing area codes are Tra Vinh and Phu Yen with 1 code each, Soc Trang has 3 codes, Ba Ria - Vung Tau and Kon Tum each have 5 codes. Regarding packaging facilities, there are currently 22 localities with durian packaging facility codes that are eligible to officially export to China. Among them, Tien Giang is the locality with the largest number of packaging facility codes, with 67 codes; Can Tho, Tay Ninh and Hau Giang each have 1 code.

Build a clearance process to enhance value

If before 2021, durian exports only reached about US$200 million/year, currently durian exports have brought nearly US$2.5 billion to our country.

According to the assessment of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, the market potential for durian in foreign markets is still very large, of which currently export turnover to China accounts for over 99 percent of total durian export turnover. Increased export demand has raised selling prices and durian growing area.

According to the Plant Protection Department, at the beginning of 2023, the durian area in the Southern provinces was 47,208 hectares, by the beginning of 2024 it was 62,173 hectares, an increase of nearly 15,000 hectares. The South Central Coast and Central Highlands provinces currently have 57,101 hectares of durian, an increase of more than 19,200 hectares in just one year. It is forecast that China's durian market capacity could reach US$20 billion and the world's US$28.6 billion by 2025.

This is considered a great opportunity for Vietnamese durian if it develops sustainably in the time to come.

In order to expand the durian export market, Mr. Huynh Tan Dat, Director of Plant Protection Department (the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) said that gardeners and businesses need to focus on improving quality, as well as the stages of preservation, preliminary processing, and processing to increase value.

“Each import market has specific requirements on plant quarantine, food safety, origin traceability... each country has different requirements for this information. Information on imported agricultural products will be controlled from production, business, harvesting to export and must be included in the data system for management," Mr. Huynh Tan Dat said.

At the same time, Mr. Ngo Xuan Nam, Deputy Director of SPS Vietnam Office, also recommended that according to the regulations of China and Vietnam Customs, there is no charge for issuing export codes and certificates to businesses. In case of receiving such a request from the customer, they can directly contact the SPS Vietnam Office to receive advice.

"Businesses should visit official Chinese websites to check registration results, look up information related to import and export activities, and be alert to unusual requests during trade with partners. In the near future, the SPS Vietnam Office plans to build a portal that will connect with businesses through applications for updates and two-way interaction," Mr. Ngo Xuan Nam added.