Illustrative image (Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam’s rice exports to theEU remain modest, at about 20,000 tonnes in volume and 10.7 million USD in value in 2019, accounting for a smallproportion of the bloc’s annual average rice consumption of 2.5 million tonnesin the 2016-2020 period.
Tran Thanh Hai, Vice Director of the Import-ExportDepartment at the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), said the absence of atariff-free quota from the EU lies behind the situation, as it has cut the competitivenessof Vietnamese rice.
The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement has opened the doorfor Vietnam, he went on, as it nominates a tariff-free quota of 80,000 tonneseach year.
The quota, however, is not allocated to Vietnameseexporters but to EU importers. Meanwhile, under the agreement, fragrant ricemust be certified by Vietnam, which means additional administrative procedures.
MoIT said that applications from importers for rice tobe sent to the EU will be submitted to authorised agencies of member countrieswithin the first seven days of each month, excluding December. Applications forthe first day of each year will be submitted in the last seven days of Novemberin the previous year.
Meanwhile, exporters must show authenticitycertificates for rice before sending shipments to the EU.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is currentlyworking with MoIT on drafting documents guiding procedures for registering forcertificates. Businesses are advised to prepare certificates of origin forcustoms clearance procedures.
Hai said that as soon as the EU announces its quotaallocation, the ministry will inform businesses via its website and the media.Businesses can access the website of the EU at http://ec.europa.eu or contact their partners to remain updated, he added./.
VNA
