Ministry seeks to boost consumption of farm produce

At the meeting, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) Tran Thanh Nam said his ministry had worked with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Health to create a mechanism where the latter would issues certificates for farm produce to be transported faster.

Ministries and agencies needed to conduct procedures in good time to help farmers and businesses know how and where they can get said certificates for their farm produce, he noted. 

The deputy minister said businesses only needed the health sector to issue a certificate of eligibility for agro products circulation. Once traders show the certificates, traffic police would let them go to ensure farm produce is shipped quickly.

Nam also asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to work with Chinese partners to temporarily allow the use of “vaccine passports” for drivers specialised in driving agricultural products and goods between the two countries to reduce costs for businesses. 

Hoang Anh Tuan, Deputy Director of the Domestic Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, requested traders to follow measures on pandemic prevention and control to ensure circulation of goods. 

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has issued documents to instruct businesses to work together to ensure supply and demand with the use of modern trade channels and e-commerce to promote the consumption of farm produce.

Nguyen Quoc Toan, Director of the Agro Processing and Market Development Authority under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said difficulties in transporting farm products between provinces were due to checkpoints for controlling the pandemic. Despite having a safety compliance certificate for COVID-19, all drivers and goods were inspected again, causing transport congestion and harming businesses.

Toan said he wanted ministries to review and conduct suitable measures on transport management to ensure pandemic prevention and business operations.