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Farmers, petty merchants crying about new rule on origin tracing
Litchi growers in the north and watermelon growers in the central region complain that the regulation on fruit origin tracing is ‘too complicated’, while petty merchants fear that the expenses for packaging will increase, and fruit will spoil because they have to wait for… procedures.
Under the new regulation, as of July 1, five kinds of fruit (longan, litchi, bananas, dragon fruit and watermelon) have to show origins when they are exported to China.
Though Phung Huu Hao, Senior Official of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, has reassured farmers that fruit exports will not get stuck because of the regulation, farmers are still like cats on hot bricks.
Nguyen Van Duong, a petty merchant who specialises in collecting litchis from farmers to provide to wholesalers in Bac Giang province, was very surprised when he was asked if he had registered his personal information to be able to provide litchis for export after July 1.
“I have been collecting litchis in Luc Ngan and Yen The districts for two years. I have never heard of such a regulation,” Duong said.
Ha, another petty merchant in Bac Giang province, also said that she had not been told to declare information about the origin of her litchis. She said that every year, she exports several hundred tonnes of litchis to China.
“Litchis are being collected from thousands of orchards from different districts in the province. The ‘life expectancy’ of litchis is short. Therefore, we always have to export as soon as possible after we collect. If we have to do so many procedures, we will lose money because litchis may spoil,” Ha said.
Meanwhile, Do Dinh Ha, Director of the Bac Giang Department Trade of Industry and Trade, admitted that the department had sent dispatches to litchi exporters only, asking them to register fruit exports, while farmers and merchants have not been told about the new rule.
Watermelon growers in Quang Ngai province have also said that they have only read about the new regulation in newspapers, while they have not got any official notices from government agencies.
Procedures will make expenses higher
Cao Hung Vuong, a farmer in Quang Ngai province, who has been growing and trading watermelons for15 years, said that it will be difficult for most farmers to follow the stipulated procedures.
Meanwhile, petty merchants are worried about the regulation on casing watermelons before shipment as it will cost them more money.
Nguyen Thi Tri, a petty merchant, said that last year, it cost 800,000 dong only to carry one tonne of melons from Quan Ngai to Tan Thanh border gate, while the cost has surged to 1.2 million dong this year. If melons are put into cases, a truck can carry only 10 tonnes of fruit instead of 20 tonnes.
VietNamNet, nld
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