Hanoi (VNA) – Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Hoang Trung on June 6 held talks with Zhao Zenglian, Vice Minister of the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), in a bid to enhance the countries’ agro-forestry-fishery trade.

Trung said the ministry and GACC have seen their cooperation growing practically, particularly during the complex developments of the COVID-19 pandemic when the sides worked together to ensure the continued bilateral trade of agricultural, forestry, and aquatic products.

To facilitate smoother trade, Zhao noted that China will expedite the review and processing of Vietnamese businesses’ registration dossiers for agro-forestry exports to the country.

The officials agreed to step up cooperation in agricultural commerce and market access. They committed to completing procedures to sign a protocol on phytosanitary requirements for Vietnamese fresh coconuts and frozen durians to be exported to China. For Vietnam’s passion fruit and chilies, which have been exported on a trial basis, both sides will accelerate the finalisation of procedures to formally sign their related documents soon.

The two sides agreed to work together to finalise protocols for exporting crocodiles, unprocessed Salangane nests, poultry, and wild-caught seafood from Vietnam to China.

The officials also discussed and agreed on solutions to resolve challenges related to Chinese sturgeon exports to Vietnam. China will support Vietnam in enhancing its capacity to identify sturgeon species.

At the meeting, the officials signed a protocol on quarantine requirements for monkeys exported from Vietnam to China. They also witnessed the conclusion of technical negotiations on a protocol on phytosanitary requirements for Vietnamese fresh coconuts to be exported to China.

Currently, Vietnamese agro-forestry-fishery products hold a relatively small market share in China, accounting for less than 5% of China’s total import value in these categories. In the first five months of this year, the countries’ trade of the products reached 6.2 billion USD, a 2.9% increase compared to the same period in 2023. Of the figure, Vietnam’s exports stood at 4.6 billion USD, up 8.6%, while imports from China surged 31.5% year-on-year to 1.6 billion USD./.