Infiltrating the 'factory' that fakes Chinese potatoes as Da Lat

Dalat potato prices are at their highest this year due to the weather causing low yields. This is also the time when many small traders in Dalat “dress” Chinese potatoes in red soil to deceive consumers.

In other provinces and right in Da Lat, many consumers easily buy Chinese potatoes that are fake Da Lat potatoes.

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Ms. Vo Minh Nga (Tan Phu district, Ho Chi Minh City) was upset: "I saw a potato that looked like it was just harvested, covered in red soil, so I bought it because I believed it was a Da Lat potato. When I cut it open and saw that the potato's inside was clear white, I realized I had bought the wrong one."

Going against the supply route of Da Lat potatoes, the leading "address" for turning Chinese potatoes into Da Lat potatoes is the Da Lat agricultural market. The market has three rows, two of which are for potato traders. In front of the market is a truck parking lot.

There are usually about three large container trucks here. Ask a driver named Hoang, he said there are always trucks of Chinese potatoes waiting here, the warehouse owner needs the goods to meet.

On the truck, Chinese potatoes are stored in red-striped bags with a characteristic layer of black mud. At a kiosk in the middle of the market, the process of erasing the origin of Chinese potatoes has been mechanized.

First, the black soil is thoroughly scrubbed. Here, the merchant has bought a potato washing machine. At Da Lat market, the noise of this machine is heard continuously from early morning to noon.

The machine's capacity is quite large, in just about 5 minutes, hundreds of kilos of potatoes were washed, two young men had to continuously pour in and carry out.

After washing, the Chinese potatoes gradually become clean, revealing a deep yellow skin, different from the Dalat potatoes which have a red or light yellow skin and are small. Immediately, the Chinese potatoes are covered with red soil and left to dry, then put into clean plastic bags, not reusing the bags used to transport potatoes from China. To be more careful, before tying the bag, the warehouse owner adds a little more red soil inside.

Chinese potatoes are prepared to be covered with a layer of Dalat red soil.

At Trang potato warehouse, one of the large warehouses in Da Lat agricultural market, the owner quickly scooped up handfuls of fine red soil and spread it evenly over the pile of washed potatoes.

She did not hide that the Chinese potatoes had to be rubbed like this to... be firmly ground, enough to be transported far away without falling apart. The principle: the ground had to be dry and smooth; and the potatoes had to be wet.

The preparation of soil and even covering the Chinese potatoes to imitate Dalat potatoes is done by the traders in the market without any need to hide. Every store has fine red soil in bags. The moist red soil is poured into the middle of the road so that vehicles can pass by and help crush it.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Ky, a member of the Da Lat Agricultural Market Management Board, said that the market has 80 traders, of which 50 specialize in selling potatoes. "It's the season when there are no Da Lat potatoes, so the market traders basically make Chinese goods," Mr. Ky said.

After being treated with red soil and packed in plastic bags for the Dalat potato variety, the potatoes were shipped with the delivery note still stating that they were Chinese potatoes.

"The problem is not the documents, but the changed identification. If you are not an expert, it is difficult to recognize," said Mr. Nguyen The Hien, head of the Da Lat agricultural market management team.

Large-scale "counterfeiting"

According to the Management Board of Da Lat Agricultural Market, more than 200 tons of Chinese potatoes have been imported to the market in the past two months.

According to Mr. Ky, that is a very small amount compared to reality, because most small traders have warehouses outside with a capacity of hundreds of tons and Chinese potato trucks can transport directly to these warehouses.

Pointing to some container trucks parked at the yard, Mr. Ky said that those were not unloading goods, but were just parked temporarily and then transported goods to other warehouses in Da Lat, or transported directly to Ho Chi Minh City.

Mr. Huynh Ngoc Hai, Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Lam Dong province, acknowledged that in addition to official channels, a large amount of Chinese potatoes have entered Da Lat through unofficial channels and are sold together with locally sourced potatoes.

It is estimated that the amount of Chinese potatoes entering Da Lat through unofficial channels is equivalent to 1/3 of the local potato output, more than 7,000 tons/year.

Trader smears red soil on Chinese potatoes

According to Mr. Lai The Hung, Head of the Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection of Lam Dong province,The practice of "disguising" Chinese potatoes as red soil is actually counterfeiting, but there are no regulations to deal with it because the merchants say they are Chinese potatoes, and the invoice also states the origin is China. When questioning the truck owner, they replied that they cover them with soil for easy storage.

"It can only be handled when the Chinese potato seller tells the buyer or writes on the invoice or label that it is Da Lat potato," said Mr. Hung.

Because it is difficult to handle Chinese potatoes "disguised" as Da Lat goods, authorities are focusing on monitoring quality. "Sampling is done immediately after opening the container. If residues exceeding the threshold are found, they will be destroyed," said Mr. Lai The Hung.

According to import invoices, Chinese potatoes cost only 3,800 VND/kg while Dalat potatoes purchased at the garden gate on September 26 cost 19,000 VND/kg.

Mr. Nguyen Cong Thua, general director of Anh Dao Cooperative, analyzed: "If we sell the right Da Lat potatoes to Ho Chi Minh City, we will make a profit of about 3,000 VND/kg, not including transportation costs. With Chinese potatoes that have changed their origin, traders will make 5 times more profit."

According to Tuoi Tre Newspaper