China seeks to tighten control over seafood imports from Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City – China has asked seafood exporters to submit certificates to prove they are effectively deploying Covid-19 prevention and control measures. To ensure food safety, it also seeks to check the measures in place of some enterprises exporting seafood to China, including those in Vietnam, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Employees of the Cuu Long Fish Joint Stock Company in An Giang Province process tra fish for export. China seeks to tighten control over seafood imports from Vietnam - PHOTO: VNA

As the pandemic continues to show complicated developments, some importing markets, including China, have enhanced control over food imports, including taking samples from imported food for testing, the local media reported.

According to the ministry, China had earlier complained that some frozen shrimp shipments from Vietnam had white spots and infectious hypodermal and haematopoetic necrosis diseases and failed to meet some food safety criteria.

The ministry has asked local exporters of seafood to China to seriously adopt Covid-19 prevention and control measures issued by the Government, the Ministry of Health, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization.

In addition, local enterprises should maintain documents on their pandemic prevention and control measures and provide them to the Chinese side when required.

They can propose that the steering committees for Covid-19 infection prevention and control at cities and provinces where they operate confirm the pandemic control situation in the localities and the effectiveness of measures applied by the enterprises.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development also asked the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers to direct its members to seriously comply with pandemic prevention and control measures to ensure safety and efficiency in the export of seafood to China.