Illustrative image (Source: VNA)

Bac Giang (VNA) – The northern province of Bac Giang will step up the fight against smuggling, trade fraud, and counterfeit goods in the locality, according to head of the provincial market management agency Chu Thanh Hien.

Member units of the National Steering Committee for Anti-smuggling, Counterfeit Goods and Trade Fraud (National Steering Committee 389) in Bac Giang will intensify market inspections, creating favourable conditions for the production, purchase, processing, and consumption of lychee and other agricultural products.

Competent forces will pay more attention to gathering information and feedback from the public and the media to promptly detect and handle acts of trade fraud, Hien said, adding that violations of regulations regarding the purchase and processing of lychee will be strictly punished.   

Besides, they will monitor production and business establishments in remote areas, which have limited access to information about fertilizers, pesticides, and counterfeit goods.

The member units of the National Steering Committee 389 in Bac Giang will diversify the communications work to raise public awareness of counterfeit goods production and trading, while increasing their inspections over food production and processing.

Market management forces and relevant agencies will exchange information and enhance coordination in investigating and addressing issues relating to e-commerce, with attention to be paid to the trading of e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products, shisha, and accessories.

Departments, agencies, and internet service providers need to closely coordinate in the management of goods and revenue in order to identify violations in this field, Hien stressed.

According to the market management department, in the first months of 2023, the transportation and trading of prohibited and smuggled goods, and trade fraud still occurred in the province, but on a small scale.

The competent forces conducted 1,211 inspections, and detected and handled 1,021 cases of violations involving 1,045 individuals, with a total fine of over 171 billion VND (7.28 million USD).

Bac Giang is set to push ahead with building brands, trademarks, and expanding the market for local agricultural products, said the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

In particular, trade promotion and e-commerce use will be supported to advertise products in domestic and foreign markets.

Authorities will effectively carry out the plan on supporting farming households to sell produce on e-commerce platforms, and facilitate the development of the digital agricultural economy. Their aim is to effectively implement the issued regulations and policies on trade promotion to help cooperatives and businesses to expand export markets, improve product value, and tap into the Vietnamese market with a population of nearly 100 million.

Bac Giang will continue diversifying distribution channels for key products while helping farmers connect with processing and distributing businesses to gradually form a production network and supply chain linking production, processing, distribution, purchasing, and selling so that local clean produce can enter supermarkets in the province and other localities, the department said.

Bac Giang will develop more sale channels, connect supply and demand between local farming zones and domestic and foreign distribution systems, help put agricultural products up for sale on e-marketplaces, and develop online sale channels. The department will review the planning of showrooms and wholesale markets for farm produce in some localities in the province.

The province will also boost the official export of its strong products such as lychee, orange, pomelo, processed vegetables, pork, chicken, and processed timber to China, and continue expanding shipments to new markets like the EU, the US, Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, ASEAN, and the Middle East, according to the department.

In the first quarter of 2023, Bac Giang recorded an increase of 1.8% in agro-forestry-fishery production value.

♚ Renowned for lychee cultivation, the province is forecast to reap a bumper harvest this year. Specialised agencies are guiding farmers in complying with VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards to improve fruit value and meet export standards./.