Customs officials checks the transportation of goods at Hữu Nghị International Border Gate via a digital border gate platform. — VNA/VNS Photo Anh Tuấn

HÀ NỘI — Smart border gate control should be launched to prevent congestion and facilitate cross-border trade in farm products between Việt Nam and China.

The proposal was raised at the working session between Việt Nam Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and China’s Guangxi Province on Tuesday on measures to promote the trade exchange of farm produce between the two countries.

Guangxi was the largest gateway for agricultural exports from Việt Nam to China.

Statistics of the China Customs showed that around US$350.4 million worth of agricultural products was imported to China via border gates with Guangxi Province in the first four months of this year, accounting for 19.7 per cent of Việt Nam’s total agricultural exports to China.

According to Nanning Customs, the peak harvest seasons for fruits such as durian and mango are approaching with higher transportation demand across borders, which is expected to put more pressure on customs clearance.

There have been signs of being overloaded at border gates recently. However, efforts are being made to facilitate trade during peak seasons, Nanning Customs said.

To enhance the customs clearance capacity, Nanning Customs said that a smart border gate control system should be piloted. Priority should also be given to create favourable conditions for trade between the two countries, the customs said, adding that the potential for cooperation in the trade of agricultural products was huge.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Trần Thanh Nam said that as congestion was happening at some border gates, it was necessary to increase information exchange between customs from the two sides to speed up customs clearance.

Nam said that some agricultural products must be given priority in customs clearance to prevent impacts on product quality.

The volume of goods transported across borders with Guangxi was huge, putting high pressure on customs clearance. Nam urged Nanning Customs to establish a contact point so that the two sides could easily communicate and timely handle problems at border gates.

Nam said that Guangxi had borders with four provinces of Việt Nam with nine border gates. However, only six of them allowed the import and export of fruits and vegetables.

Nam urged Nanning Customs to allow fruits and vegetables to be traded via all nine border gates to ease the pressure on traditional gates and lower costs.

Regarding the smart border gate control system, Nam said that the idea was good, urging Nanning Customs to develop a specific project for pilot implementation.

Nam also said that a business association should be established which would play role in connecting enterprises operating in logistics and in trade from both countries to facilitate the import-export activities.

Nam also proposed the development of cold storage or slaughter centres in border areas to meet the consumption demand of the two sides.

Việt Nam had many disease-free husbandry zones with products exported to markets such as Japan, Korea and Russia. Nam said, adding that the Việt Nam Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development would work with the Chinese side to open the door to Vietnamese husbandry products. — VNS