EU tightens regulations on imported agricultural products

A notable information in the market recently is that according to information from the Vietnam SPS Office, this agency has just received a notice from the Secretariat of the SPS Committee - World Trade Organization (WTO) about the European Union (EU) consulting WTO members on draft SPS measure notifications.

Pepper is one of the main export items to the EU (Photo: VNA)

Accordingly, depending on each product, the EU proposes to increase or decrease the maximum residue level (MRL) of some active ingredients. Notably, the EU has proposed to change the MRL of some active ingredients in many agricultural products exported from Vietnam such as: avocado, banana, mango, papaya, durian, okra, tea, coffee, pepper, rice, cashew, macadamia... Changing the MRL for some agricultural products will more or less affect the export of goods from Vietnam to the EU.

This story shows that the requirements of import markets will tend to increase. Especially, with markets that Vietnam has signed Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with such as the EU, non-tariff barriers will be used more and more widely to protect domestic goods.

The EU is also one of the largest markets for Vietnamese goods, and is a market where Vietnam has taken relatively effective advantage of the EVFTA. Mr. Luong Hoang Thai - Director of the Multilateral Trade Policy Department - Ministry of Industry and Trade commented that among the new generation free trade agreements that Vietnam has participated in, the EVFTA is the Agreement that has brought the most positive results.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, export turnover after 4 years of the EVFTA coming into effect is estimated at about 200 billion USD. Over the past 4 years, Vietnam's export growth to the EU has reached 12-15%/year and has always been a country with a trade surplus to the EU.

However, the demands of this market are also increasing day by day. According to Mr. Le Thanh Hoa - Deputy Director of the Department of Quality, Processing and Market Development - Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in order to be exported, Vietnamese products must be suitable for different market segments, meeting many regulations on food safety, plant and animal quarantine... In particular, technical issues are also a major barrier for export enterprises. If you have a good grasp of market regulations as well as import and export procedures, it will facilitate export enterprises. Because in fact, Vietnam's production capacity is relatively good, especially rice, pepper, coffee, cashew nuts, rubber...

Regarding the industries, Ms. Hoang Thi Lien - President of the Vietnam Pepper and Spice Association also admitted that with small-scale production, farmers and businesses have not fully grasped the standards of the import market, so the pepper and spice industry still has some limitations. Recently, businesses have been warned by the EU regarding some indicators related to drug residues, microorganisms, heavy metals, etc.

In fact, in the past, exporting enterprises have not really complied with the regulations of importers because the MRL (residue level of pesticides) for each active ingredient in each country is different. This requires in-depth research and understanding of science and technology. In addition, according to previous habits, producers in some places do not have measures or plans to use pesticides, antibiotics, and fertilizers in accordance with instructions. For example, a survey in Thua Thien - Hue in 2020 showed that 95% of shrimp farming households used antibiotics.

Must meet market demands by all means

According to the authorities, if there is just one violation, Vietnam's export goods will be subject to extremely strict market inspection. There are cases where just one shipment of chili exported to the EU with a yield of 38 kg was found to not meet requirements, but contributed to the EU applying border inspection measures of up to 50% of all Vietnamese chili products.

Or just 7 batches of dragon fruit, equivalent to 400 - 1,800 kg of dragon fruit, were found to not meet the requirements, then this product was also subject to increased border supervision from 20% to 30%. In addition, okra was also subject to 50% border control with accompanying certificates, durian 10%...

Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen - General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association acknowledged that if the technical barriers of importing countries are not fully understood and complied with, they will turn into "potholes" for businesses on the export path, and can even wipe out efforts in opening the market, which is very difficult and arduous. Therefore, understanding and complying with the regulations of each market is the only way for goods to be exported smoothly.

In fact, in recent times, many Vietnamese farmers and businesses have been constantly striving to produce goods with increasingly improved quality and safety. However, there are still some businesses that sometimes have inadequate awareness and do not meet export standards. Therefore, in the coming time, industry associations and businesses need to continue to improve product quality and safety to best meet the regulations in new-generation free trade agreements, as well as agricultural, forestry and fishery export activities in general.

Therefore, the Ministry of Industry and Trade recommends that enterprises producing agricultural products and foodstuffs need to improve product quality management, meet EU requirements, to continue stable exports to this market.