Support enterprises to apply traceability for dragon fruits. Illustration.

China is one of the main consuming countries of Vietnamese dragon fruit exports, accounting for 85.5% in the first quarter of this year, with a turnover of US$197.55 million, down 34.6%. over the same period in 2021.

Statistics from the General Department of Customs show that, in the first quarter of 2022, the export turnover of dragon fruits of all kinds (including fresh, frozen, dried and juiced forms) reached approximately US$231 million, down 29.8 % over the same period in 2021.

With a series of regulations on traceability, control of growing area codes, packing facility codes and the addition of Orders 248, 249, from January 1, 2022, China has been a difficult market. It is forecasted that in the near future, China will apply pesticide residue control to fruits, which poses new challenges for agricultural products, including dragon fruits, when exporting to this market.

In order to support Vietnamese businesses, especially those in the supply chain of dragon fruit exports, the National Barcode Center is implementing a pilot model of applying regulations on traceability to support trade cross the border. The project to support businesses to apply traceability in safety and quality management is part of the Program on Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security in the Mekong Sub-region countries of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The pilot aims to apply regulations on traceability and make agricultural supply chains transparent, thereby reducing risks in the food supply system, and at the same time addressing the challenges of new, stricter regulations on trade cross border.

A representative of the National Barcode Center said that the requirement for enterprises participating in the project is to participate in the supply chain of dragon fruit products; Having experiences in or having certificates in GAP, GMP, organic agriculture, safe production; Interested in standards compliance, quality management, food safety, sustainable agriculture and the participation of young staffs (under 35 years old).

Enterprises selected to participate in the model will be able to participate in an international project on NR, meeting China's import requirements by ADB in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Science and Technology; Supported by international experts of ADB in the application of traceability, sustainable agriculture, food hygiene and safety. In addition, ADB is also supported to apply the regulations on traceability system according to global GS1standards; Support businesses to register for international GS1 identifiers, growing area codes, factory codes; Support enterprises to be re-granted GAP certificates and participate in training courses on traceability, food safety and hygiene, import requirements of China.

The project implementing unit will conduct a survey and assessment of the supply chain of agricultural products, from which 3-5 enterprises will be selected to deploy the pilot model. This will be an opportunity to help businesses in the supply chain of dragon fruit products deploy, apply regulations on traceability, GAP, be registered with international identifiers and have the opportunity to improve their ability to meet export market requirements.

Enterprises participating in the pilot project are supported with full funding.

Business survey link here: https://forms.gle/gHbunGoU46wekyNi6

For further information, please contact:

National Center for Codes and Barcodes

Address: No. 8 Hoang Quoc Viet, Cau Giay, Hanoi City

Mobile: 0868666313 – Mr. Dang Van Nguyen

Email: msmv@nbc.gov.vn

Website: gs1.org.vn - nbc.gov.vn

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