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Cross-border export: Vietnamese merchants lack information
Hundreds of merchants these days carry fruit to the Tan Thanh border gate to sell across the border to China. Many cannot make a sale.
The Tan Thanh border gate in Lang Son is full of vehicles and small merchants in long lines waiting to complete procedures for going to China and selling fruit.
Watermelon comes, litchi season nears
“It is too sunny these days. As merchants must wait a long time before getting into China, fruits wither. A lot of small merchants cannot sell fruits and have to return to Vietnam because the products cannot meet quality requirements,” confirmed Vy Manh Hong, Deputy Head of Tan Thanh customs agency.
According to Hong, a big number of trucks have arrived, making the 18,000 square metre parking lot at the border gate full. Even though Tan Thanh border gate’s customs agency works through break time, small merchants still can only get customs clearance after one or two days of waiting.
Most fruit exports for China across the border are fresh ones, such as rambutan, bananas, dragon fruit and chili. The fruits, after traveling a long distance of thousands of kilometers and waiting several days at the border, have rotted.
“A lot of small merchants must throw away whole trucks of watermelons when the fruit smells. Meanwhile, they lose all the money spent to purchase and transport watermelons from domestic sources,” Hong remarked.
As the merchants could not sell the fruit in China, they brought it back to bargain away at the border gate. “We are afraid that the situation will be even more serious in June, when litchi season comes,” he added.
According to Nguyen Hong Minh from Tan Thanh border gate’s customs agency, the parking lot can contain 110 trucks, but at the peak of fruit season, up to 500 vehicles wait in line.
Merchants lack information
Nguyen Van Hien, a young merchant, purchased watermelons at 3000 dong per kilo, paid 1000 dong per kilo for transport, totaling 4000 dong per kilo. The fruit can be sold for 7000 dong per kilo in China.
The profit is considered as attractive, even when many merchants bring fruit China and do not sign any contracts with Chinese merchants. As a result, a lot of Vietnamese merchants had to return with their watermelons because the fruit was refused by Chinese traders.
“A lot of merchants have lost money because of the refusals. It is estimated that in every watermelon season, merchants lose billions of dong,” noted a merchant sitting next to Hien, who added, “Besides, they also lose money for bananas and dragonfruit as well.”
At the customs declaration office, Le Sy Han from Thanh Phuong Company in Lang Son province related that Chinese merchants cooperate with each other very well.
“They always agree with each other on prices. When a Chinese merchant refuses to purchase goods, Vietnamese merchants will not find other merchants who will accept them,” he explained.
According to Han, his company always signs contracts with merchants before carrying goods into China. Chinese merchants only refuse his goods when they find problems with the quality.
Han confirmed that other Vietnamese merchants do not have enough information and no export contracts, but they still carry goods to sell in China and are often refused and sent back to Vietnam to sell their fruit.
According to Lang Son Customs Agency Head Nguyen Cong Tuong, the cross-border export of fruit through the border gates in Lang Son has been increasing steadily since the beginning of 2010. More and more Vietnamese merchants choose to export fruit across the border to enjoy the zero percent export tariff.
“Trucks and merchants get stuck at the border because they do not have enough information,” Tuong maintained. “Vietnamese merchants should sign contracts with Chinese counterparts before bringing goods to the border.”
He predicted that if the Government takes no measures, even more trucks will get stuck at the gateway to China.
vietnamnet, Tien phong
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