The working hours at the Tân Thanh and Cốc Nam secondary border gates are only five hours per day during the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo chinhphu.vn

HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) on Thursday requested provinces and businesses to temporarily suspend transport of export agricultural products, especially fruits, to Lạng Sơn Province’s border gates due to slow customs clearance.

At the same time, the ministry asked farming, forestry and fishery associations and enterprises to regularly update the situation of implementing customs clearance at border gates, aiming at adjusting export plans of agricultural, forestry and fishery products.

Besides that, the businesses should keep their eye on the situation of customs clearance and export of goods to the Chinese market at border gates, the ministry said.

The ministry sent these recommendations to the provinces’ authorities and enterprises because some localities in China have promoted measures to control the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and prevent transmission from other countries to China, including Việt Nam.

Specifically, from April 3, Guangxi Province, China, has enhanced the control of the pandemic at land and waterway border gates, especially land border gates and border crossings.

Customs clearance for import and export goods is only implemented at Hữu Nghị, Đông Hưng, Thủy Khẩu, Ái Diễm and Động Trung border gates, Bằng Tường railway border gate, and Pò Chài, Lũng Vài and Nà Ráy border crossings.

Besides that, from March 30, China has also strengthened the control of COVID-19 by strictly managing Chinese drivers and customs declaration agents coming to isolated areas in Việt Nam and not allowing Vietnamese drivers from provinces with COVID-19 infected cases to enter China.

At the same time, China has built teams of drivers at the Hữu Nghị border gate and the Tân Thanh-Pò Chài border gate from April 7.

China has also announced that the working hours at the Tân Thanh and Cốc Nam secondary border gates are only five hours per day, excluding weekends and public holidays, from April 7.

Meanwhile, from April 8, import and export goods trucks are not allowed to cross the Tân Thanh-Pò Chài border gate after 2pm and the working hours for implementing customs procedures from 7.30am until 4.30pm.

Therefore, the ministry has requested Chinese customs to cooperate with Vietnamese customs in solving difficulties in customs clearance at border gates. That would create favourable conditions for trading activities at border gates during the pandemic to meet the demand of the two countries.

China needs to extend the working time of daily customs clearance and simplify administrative procedures, especially procedures for import and export of goods and procedures for quarantine, according to the ministry.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade would consider proposals to China on extending time of customs clearance for import and export farming products from 7am until 10pm (Hà Nội time) at the Kim Thành-Bắc Sơn border gate. — VNS