'Shocking' Chinese fruits and vegetables 'peeled' as Vietnamese goods at Nghe An wholesale market

(Baonghean.vn) -In Nghe An, vegetables and fruits of Chinese origin are being imported and sold everywhere. The packaging of these products is torn off and they are 'transformed' into Vietnamese products, deceiving consumers.

90% are Chinese vegetables and fruits

To find out the truth, the reporter made many field trips to the wholesale market in Hong Son ward, Vinh city. Every night, starting at 11pm, the kiosks and stalls open their doors and turn on the lights to welcome trucks carrying vegetables, tubers, and fruits from various places.

Vegetables, tubers, and fruits here are very diverse, originating from all over the South, the North, and even China. The goods are then sold to retailers who sell to markets in the province and the two provinces of Ha Tinh and Quang Binh...

Cabbage of Chinese origin is unloaded from vehicle with license plate 98C - 14810 at the wholesale market in Hong Son ward, Vinh Hong city. Photo: TC

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa, 44 years old, owner of a cheap restaurant in Hung Binh ward (Vinh city) said: Every morning, she goes to Vinh market to buy meat and fish, wholesale market to buy vegetables and fruits of all kinds. Here, food is abundant, prices are reasonable. As for the origin of food, the seller says so. For example, cabbage and green onions, the seller said they bought from Quynh Luu, Nghe An, and cabbage is from Da Lat.

But in reality, does cabbage originate from the vegetable villages of Quynh Luu district? Mr. Ho Nghia Dung - Chairman of the People's Committee of Quynh Bang commune affirmed: In Quynh Luu district, there are currently many types of vegetables grown, but this season there is absolutely no cabbage or Chinese cabbage because these are all winter crops!

Among dozens of cars with license plates from localities such as Bac Giang, Hai Duong, Hung Yen, Yen Bai transporting vegetables and fruits to the wholesale market in Hong Son ward (Vinh city), there is an I-Fa truck with license plate 98C 14810.

According to Ms. Hoang Thi Xuan, a trader at the wholesale market, this truck comes in every night, specializing in selling Chinese vegetables and fruits. This month, the truck mainly carries cabbage and Chinese cabbage. Each bale and packaging of the cabbage and Chinese cabbage batches have clear Chinese characters printed on them.

Mr. Hung - owner of vehicle 98C 14810 - claiming to be a member of the celery production cooperative in Hiep Hoa district, Bac Giang province said: "Every day, the vehicle carries about more than 10 tons of vegetables imported to Nghe An, all kinds. Some are dumped at Yen Ly and Dien Chau intersections, the majority are brought to this wholesale market. This season, the main products are cabbage and Chinese cabbage. These two types are imported from Lao Cai border gate and have full invoices and documents"...

As for the quality, Mr. Hung does not need to hide: “This junk is only sold in the market, not in supermarkets or schools. If you get poisoned, you will die. The poisoning is related to pesticides.”

The packages of vegetables, tubers and fruits are all wrapped in bags with clearly printed Chinese characters. Photo: TC

"Stripped" into Vietnamese goods

Mr. Au Dinh Khai, Head of the Wholesale Market Management Board, under the Song Tien Construction and Trading Company, refuted the opinion that 90% of vegetables and fruits are of Chinese origin: "The vast majority are still Vietnamese goods. Only a few are "Chinese" goods but have passed ATPP testing and do not contain chemicals that affect humans."

The quality of vegetables and fruits originating from China needs to be checked and answered by the authorities. However, it is worth mentioning that at the wholesale market, vegetables and fruits originating from China have had their labels removed, peeled and cleaned by the traders! After this stage, Chinese vegetables and fruits are no different from Vietnamese vegetables and fruits. Buyers are almost unable to distinguish them. If they are observant, they can see that Chinese vegetables and fruits are bigger, more beautiful and more eye-catching.

Cabbage and other vegetables and fruits of Chinese origin are peeled and their packaging removed to become Vietnamese vegetables and fruits. Photo: TC

Mr. Tran Duc Tuan, Captain of Market Management Team No. 10, said: “In 2016, the Team coordinated with the Provincial Environmental Police to inspect and handle 5 cases, destroying dozens of tons of Chinese vegetables and fruits without documents. At the beginning of this year, the Team only handled 1 more case because most of the vehicle owners had invoices proving the origin and had quarantine certificates. For vehicles without documents, they dealt with it by tearing the outer packaging.”

Regarding the Nghe An Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Quality Management, it is known that from 2016 to now, the Department has not conducted any inspections of the quality of vegetables, tubers and fruits at wholesale markets, there has only been one period of guidance for small traders to comply with legal regulations.

So what is the reason why the authorities in Nghe An are “afraid” to check the quality of vegetables and fruits originating from China? It is known that if the vegetables and fruits are toxic, it is easy to handle, but if the vegetables and fruits have pesticide content within the allowable threshold, these agencies must compensate for the damage (vegetables and fruits are damaged if the detention time is more than 3-4 hours while the testing time is at least 2 weeks)!

PV Group