Fisheries have been complaining about the food safety policies put into place by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), saying they adversely affect business.

Fisheries worry about coming safety policies
Nguyen Huu Dung, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, said MARD's policies, which took effect from July 1, 2011 have been a heavy burden on the fishery business in Vietnam, and that even though they have made repeated appeals, the problem remains unsolved.
Since the implementation of the regulations, inspection fees levied on companies have been raised by 150% to 200% by the National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department (NAFIQAD). Aquaculture businesses also claim that the 7-10 day procedure before exportation has undermined their competitiveness.
Despite the efforts by NAFIQAD, in 2011 Vietnam's seafood products have been continually flagged by other countries for not meeting food safety standards. About half of these incidents are because of overuse of antibiotics by the farmers.
"NAFIQAD certificates carry the sentence, 'This result only applies to the analysed material', which means that the entire cargo has not been inspected. In cases where there is a food safety issue NAFIQAD will not back the businesses they have given certificates to. Why would the agency check samples without giving meaningful quality guarantees?" Dung said.
Tran Van Linh, General Director of Thuan Phuoc Seafood and Trading Corporation, said that partner countries do not require NAFIQAD certificates.
Another big firm stated, "This company spent VND1.8 million in 2011 for the certification process, even though our Japanese partners do not require them. On top of that, the bureaucracy for certification is extremely complex."
MARD to make changes
The head of NAFIQAD, Nguyen Nhu Tiep, said that Vietnam has received a number of warnings from Japan and Canada to install better methods food safety control, with threats of disallowing imports. He added that the agency will review their testing process in time to come.
He stood firm, however, on the need for a certification system, saying that neighbouring countries, such as Singapore, Indonesia and India all have such systems in place. "Thailand is the only country in the vicinity which has a programme where a business can apply online for an export license. We may do the same, but a physical inspection process will remain in place."
However, many firms complained and said that we should not compare with Singapore or Indonesia since our exports are about 20 times higher than them.
Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu Vice-Minister of MARD said that the next consignment to Canada and Japan will have to meet the standards of partner countries only. MARD will seek to apply the NAFIQAD inspection system to firms who have violated safety standards.Travel to Vietnam
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