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Vietnam keeping strict control over pork imported for re-export
Twenty countries in the world have prohibited pork imports from the US, Mexico and Canada for fear of the A/H1N1 flu pandemic spreading. As a result, a big volume of pork from the Americas on its way to Asian countries is transiting through Vietnam, causing blockage at Hai Phong port.
While many Asian countries have prohibited pork from entering their countries, Vietnam has not made any decision on stopping pork imports. As Vietnam has not prohibited pork imports, many foreign companies have persuaded Vietnamese food companies to import pork temporarily until it can be re-exported. The massive quantity of pork imported recently has created a commodity deadlock at ports.
Vu Quang Vinh, Director of the Management Supervision under the General Department of Customs, said that by May 6, 2009, 2,000 containers of frozen food had arrived at Hai Phong port.
Meanwhile, Dinh Vu Port has reportedly over 300 containers of temporarily imported food for re-export later, and Chua Ve Port 1,000 containers.
As most ports in Hai Phong city are overloaded, enterprises have to hire depots in other places. Due to the overload, Chua Ve port announced it would not accept more frozen food imported from other countries.
The frozen food in the containers mainly is pork and internal animal organs. The products have been imported by Vietnamese enterprises for re-export to China. However, as China has tightened imports of frozen meat and internal organs to prevent a flu pandemic spread, Vietnamese companies still cannot export the imports.
If China insists on refusing to import the meat, the imports will be either abrogated, or exported to the export countries. However, as Vietnamese companies mostly make transactions under the mode of definitive purchases, they will have to see the imports abrogated and bear losses.
According to customs agencies, the biggest problem now is the lack of storage. Meanwhile, it requires a lot of electricity to preserve the meat.
Vinh said that in order to deal with the commodity deadlock at ports, the General Department of Customs has asked Vietnamese companies to stop singing contracts on providing the service of temporary import for re-export.
Sources say that Chinese import companies, which signed contracts on importing meat from North America and now cannot bring meat to China, are ready to sell the meat to Vietnamese companies at low prices.
Therefore, a lot of Vietnamese companies have cooperated with foreign partners, planning to bring pork to ports in Vietnam. They hope that they can get licences to sell the meat on the domestic market.
In the latest news, some of the stuck containers has been liberated from the ports. The Customs Sub-Agency No 3 under the Hai Phong Customs Agency on May 6 fulfilled procedures for re-exporting 60 containers, reducing the number of containers stuck there to 500.
VietNamNet, TBKTVN
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