Biscuits, powdered milk also… animal quarantine

In Ho Chi Minh City, the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) in collaboration with the USAID GIG project organized a workshop on implementing Resolution 19 of the Government on reforming administrative procedures in the management and inspection of import and export goods to summarize difficulties from the business community to work with ministries and branches to find solutions to improve the business environment and enhance national competitiveness.

Over-extension regulations

According to Mr. Vu Quoc Tuan, representative of the Food and Nutrition Subcommittee of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham), the regulations on quarantine of animals and animal products have been expanded beyond what is necessary. Mr. Tuan said that processed milk products and products containing milk ingredients are subject to animal quarantine. Even heat-treated products (with dead bacteria) such as powdered milk and biscuits are still subject to animal quarantine. Meanwhile, the World Organization for Animal Health and the Codex Alimentarius Commission both said that according to practice, only milk in the form of fresh milk or semi-processed milk is inspected.

"Therefore, we propose that animal quarantine should only be applied to fresh milk and semi-processed milk, not to heat-treated dairy products. In fact, the inspection of this item in the past reached 100% quarantine, causing a lot of time and cost for businesses. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development should soon remove obstacles for businesses," Mr. Tuan suggested.

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In addition, Mr. Tuan also suggested that when inspecting enterprises, agencies and sectors should be cautious in applying preventive measures such as stopping circulation and temporarily holding goods when there are no test results or the test results are still controversial because this could cause the enterprise to go bankrupt.

"When in court, the defendant can have the last word, but the enterprise can be "killed" without the opportunity to appeal because the inspection agency relies on one test. The Ministry of Science and Technology should create a mechanism for enterprises to be tested a second or third time to verify the results. I specifically cite the case of an enterprise whose test results showed that the acid content (sourness) in the product was 6 times higher than the announced level, but fortunately the inspection team promptly listened to the enterprise. At that time, the enterprise explained that if the product really had 6 times the acid content, it would be very sour to eat, but in reality, through the senses, this product was very normal, so the test result could be wrong. The re-test results later showed that the product passed and the case was resolved smoothly," said Mr. Tuan.

Regarding Mr. Tuan's proposal, Mr. Nguyen Hoang Linh, Deputy Director General of the General Department of Standards, Metrology and Quality - Ministry of Science and Technology, said that previously, businesses were allowed to re-test and this regulation was taken advantage of by some businesses. "Laboratories must be responsible for the test results. Businesses should follow foreign practices and sue labs that make mistakes to demand compensation" - Mr. Linh suggested.

Not in accordance with international practice

According to Mr. Pham Thanh Binh, USAID GIG project expert, from 2014 to 2017, the Government has consecutively issued Resolution 19 on key tasks and solutions to improve the business environment and enhance national competitiveness. In 2017, according to the rankings of international organizations, Vietnam's competitiveness increased by 5 ranks, business environment increased by 14 ranks, innovation increased by 12 ranks compared to 2016, ranking at the highest positions that Vietnam has achieved.

Assessing the implementation of Resolution 19, according to Mr. Binh, many contents have not yet been achieved. "The content of applying risk management in specialized inspections has only been applied to the food sector, other sectors have not been basically implemented. The content applied according to international practices (mutual recognition in specialized inspections, proactive recognition of quality in areas with high and advanced quality standards such as the US, Europe, Japan) has not been announced by any ministry to apply" - Mr. Binh cited.

According to Mr. Binh, the items that require the most specialized inspections belong to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. This Ministry also has the slowest customs clearance time of 108 hours (in Ho Chi Minh City) and 96 hours (in Hanoi) for shipments subject to animal quarantine. Meanwhile, the requirement of Resolution 19 is that the customs clearance time for shipments must not exceed 90 hours (imported goods). As for items managed by the Ministry of Science and Technology, according to Mr. Nguyen Hoang Linh, the time has been shortened from 23 days in the period of 2012 - 2015 to 1 day (24 hours) as at present.