In 2024, the agricultural sector aims to achieve an export turnover of about 57-58 billion USD for agricultural, forestry and fishery products. However, each market area and even each country currently has its own regulations on safety standards and animal and plant quarantine (SPS). Therefore, improving the capacity to comply with regulations will be an important basis for agricultural products to be exported smoothly, avoiding import warnings or restrictions.

The three largest export markets for agricultural, forestry and fishery products of Vietnam are currently the US, China and Japan. Market areas with much room for growth are the European Union (EU), the RCEP region, ASEAN, the Middle East, etc. These are also markets that annually have many announcements related to SPS measures, requiring exporting countries to comply.
Increasing pressure on agricultural products
Deputy Director of the Office of Notification and National Enquiry Point for Hygiene, Epidemiology and Quarantine of Vietnam (Vietnam SPS Office) Ngo Xuan Nam said: Announcements of changes and draft SPS measures of the EU in the first six months of 2024 increased by nearly 20% compared to the same period in 2023, the highest among Vietnam’s agricultural trade partners. Since 2000, countries in the Asia-Pacific region have tended to increase notifications, from nearly 250 notifications in 2000 to more than 1,100 notifications in 2022.
In addition, Vietnam’s main partners in agricultural, forestry, fishery and food export trade such as the US, Japan, South Korea and China are the countries with the most notifications, accounting for more than 60%.
Currently, Vietnam still has four items subject to border inspection: dragon fruit with a frequency of 30%, chili 50%, okra 50%, durian 10%. According to regulations, the EU will review every six months to apply enhanced measures, additional inspections, and import management. Accordingly, it is possible to increase/decrease the inspection frequency or require additional food safety certificates and test analysis results. Therefore, if there is no timely solution, the inspection frequency may increase,” Mr. Nam emphasized.
According to the Vietnam SPS Office, the reason for this increase in warnings is that exporting enterprises have not really complied with the regulations of the importing country on pesticide residue levels (MRL), because each active ingredient of each country has different regulations. This requires in-depth research and understanding of science and technology to meet the correct requirements. In addition, according to traditional production habits, producers in some places do not have measures or plans to use pesticides, antibiotics, and fertilizers according to instructions.
Meanwhile, the monitoring rate of growing area codes and packing facility codes is not high, especially for some key export fruits such as durian, dragon fruit, etc. In addition, comments on the draft notice on Vietnam’s SPS measures are still limited, only a few localities are really interested and have full and timely responses, while this is the right to have opinions to create conditions for agricultural exports.
Mr. Luong Ngoc Quang – International Cooperation and Communication Department (Plant Protection Department) said: For fruits and vegetables, China is currently Vietnam’s largest export market. However, to be allowed to export officially, China requires negotiations to open the market for each type of product and sign a protocol. Exporting enterprises must register according to Orders 248, 249, and declare growing area codes and packing facilities.
As for the EU market, although Vietnamese fruits and vegetables enjoy preferential tariffs under the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), the EU is very concerned about SPS measures, especially MRL levels. If a pesticide has not been established by the EU for MRL and is not in the database, the default level of 0.01 mg/kg will be applied.
Accurately updated, quickly responded to quality regulations
According to the Vietnam Trade Office in Belgium and the EU, in early June 2024, Vietnam’s instant noodles were removed from the food safety control list in the EU because they met EU regulations. This is one of the evidences for the effective and synchronous coordination between state management agencies and enterprises in quickly, accurately updating and promptly responding to regulations and standards of the EU market.
Mr. Vo Van Hoai – representative of Acecook Vietnam Joint Stock Company said that the Vietnam SPS Office has become a focal point, supporting Acecook Company and enterprises in the field of manufacturing and exporting instant products to learn about market standards, contributing to solving and removing obstacles for enterprises when participating in the international market. This is extremely important, especially in the EU market because with the EVFTA Agreement, tariff incentives are an advantage, but because of that, technical measures are also denser, requiring businesses to comply.
In addition to timely and accurate updates on new requirements and regulations of each market, the ability of businesses to respond also needs to be improved through finding partners with inspection capacity to successfully export goods internationally. According to Mr. Henry Bui – Director of Hoan Vu Science and Technology Company Limited, the company is currently a unit that successfully implements traceability and traceability processes on honey products exported to the US and Europe with leading equipment and technology.
When entering high-quality markets, accurate quality inspection will avoid warnings that damage the reputation of businesses and Vietnamese agricultural products. Hoan Vu Company is also ready to support inspection work for Vietnamese industries when they want to cooperate to expand the export of agricultural products.
Referring to the importance of implementing regulations related to sanitary and phytosanitary measures, Mr. Le Thanh Hoa – Director of the Vietnam SPS Office said: One of the hottest issues in Vietnam’s agricultural exports today is food safety and phytosanitary measures. Due to the lack of awareness of producers and exporting enterprises, export standards are often not met. On the other hand, the production and processing processes and technologies of enterprises have many stages that are not 100% controlled, which can easily lead to the risk of contamination and pesticide residues. In the process of supporting enterprises to meet the regulations of importing countries, we have found that many establishments need to obtain HACCP and Halal certification but do not have full details of the conditions that need to be met. Therefore, the Vietnam SPS Office is committed to supporting information on quarantine and plant safety, helping businesses best meet regulations from importing countries.
Source: https://baolangson.vn/nang-cao-nang-luc-xuat-khau-nong-san-5025317.html