Trucks travel through Kim Thanh International Bordergate in the northern province of Lao Cai.(Photo: thanhnien.vn)

Hanoi (VNA) – As soon as China reopened itsborder on January 8, business of Vietnam and China turnedbusy again after a nearly three-year disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Deputy head of the border station based at the Kim ThanhInternational Bordergate in the northern province of Lao Cai Senior Lieutenant HoangMinh Du said that from January 8, the volume of goods traded via the bordergate increased daily.

Particularly, on January 11, the border gate saw 71trucks carrying goods for export and 158 trucks carrying imports goods.

Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, about 200trucks travelled through the border gate daily. 

However, at theborder gate, China still mainains the delivery of import and exportgoods by specialised drivers who can drive trucks through the bordergate from China to Vietnamand vice versa but the drivers are not required to wear protectiveclothesanymore, according to Du.

The goods-checking stage is also removed so the deliveryof import and export goods between enterprises of the two countries isconvenient and fast, he said.

In the border province of Lang Son, parking areas at the TanThanh Border Gate and the Huu Nghi International Border Gate are filled with trucksthat carry products for export.

The truck drivers are no longer required to wearprotective clothing and they can talk to each other when queuing forcheck-in procedures. 
Nguyen Thi Ngoc Nhung, a representative of the Hoa CuongFruit Import-Export Co., Ltd from the southern province of Long An, said thather company exports five to six containers of jackfruit and dragon fruit to China everyday through border gates in Lang Son.

Previously, once reaching the border gate, her trucks hadto wait for at least a half day and drivers must open containers forauthorities to check goods and take samples for COVID-19 testing.

Thus, her company had to spend an additional 2 - 4million VND (85-170 USD) for each truck at that time.

From January 8 to now, businesses have saved tens ofmillions of dong every day when they no longer have to pay for diseaseprevention and control, Nhung told Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper.

Huynh TanDat, Deputy Director of the Plant Protection Department under the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development, said that China is the most important exportmarket of Vietnam's agricultural sector, including the fruit and vegetableindustry.

Dat saidthat if Vietnam's agricultural products and fruits meet requirements on food safety, quality,and product design, the country has a great opportunity to export to China.

As Vietnamand China share a long border with numerous border gates, Vietnam has a competitiveadvantage in terms of price and transportation costs, Dat said, adding that theexport of Vietnamese agricultural products to China, particularly durian,banana, and sweet potato will grow strongly this year.

DeputyMinister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien, Vietnam's exportsof agricultural goods and products to China account for about 19.2% of themarket share of goods and agricultural products imported to the country.

♛ China'sborder reopening is a great opportunity for Vietnamese goods and agriculturalproducts to penetrate deeply into that market, Tien said./.