China is the biggest export market for Vietnamese fresh fruits. Under the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) more than 8,000 goods from Vietnam enjoy reduced taxes and almost no tariffs – including certain fresh fruits – for export. The Chinese market therefore provides bi opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises. However, many businesses, especially small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), still export fruits via unofficial channels to China, due to a lack of knowledge on official trade and Chinese market requirements. This causes legal problems, lower profits, and most importantly produce losses.
China improved its standards for quality management and origin traceability for agricultural produce in the last years. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, currently additional food safety requirements are implemented which makes it more challenging for SMEs from Vietnam to adhere to all regulations and gain market access. To broaden the understanding of the Chinese market and the use of official trade channels, GIZ SRECA jointly with the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (VIETRADE) developed nine Fresh Fruits Export Guidelines to China for products that are having official quotas for export.
The main content of the nine guidelines has now been combined into one more general guide. Additionally, a Leaflet with brief specific information on the export processes as well as production and consumption of the nine selected fruits in China and Vietnam has been issued. The guidelines and leaflet are used for training of relevant Vietnamese SMEs and public stakeholders and are currently also transferred into e-learning courses.
The guidelines were originally compiled in Vietnamese gathering respective data from public and private stakeholders. The English translation serves as information for further international actors supporting the development of the Vietnamese small businesses or private sector development regarding agricultural trade in general. In case of discrepancy between the original version and the translated text, the original version shall prevail.