Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will remove quarantine regulations for frozen processed seafood products imported for domestic processing for export purposes.
The change will be made in an amendment to a 2016 circular on quarantine regulations the ministry expects to issue in the second quarter, the ministry said in a letter issued in mid-January.
In another circular effective on 6 November, 2021, the Vietnamese ministry announced it had removed imported processed seafood- either frozen, dried, or cooked for domestic consumption out of the list of products subject to quarantine.
Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said in a statement on 25 January the ministry’s move is good news for the seafood industry, which has had to follow “unnecessary” quarantine regulations for years.
VASEP previously sent a petition to the country’s central government asking for changes in national seafood import quarantine regulations. This was the third time VASEP petitioned the government to address the issue, with similar letters sent in March and May 2021.
Almost 100 percent of imported processed seafood cargoes are required to be quarantined before customs clearance, which VASEP said is unnecessary. The trade group called on the government to remove strict inspection regimes for frozen processed seafood products, which are imported for processing and reexport.
It also urged a loosening of rules on processed seafood products imported for domestic consumption, which VASEP believes are unlikely to spread aquatic diseases into Vietnam.
Vietnam imported seafood worth nearly USD 2 billion (EUR 1.8 billion) in 2021, an increase of 11.9 percent from 2020, mainly from India with USD 287.5 million (EUR 254.8 million), up 25.2 percent; Norway with USD 203.5 million (EUR 180.4 million), rising 4.4 percent; China with USD 161 million (EUR 142.7 million), surging 5 percent; and Japan with USD 141 million (EUR 125 million), down 14.3 percent year-on-year, according to Vietnamese customs data.
Photo courtesy of VASEP
