Russia is currently the second biggest market importing Pangasius from Vietnam, occupying 14.4% of the total capacity following Europe (39.2%). According to the judge of the experts, this is a potential market but filled with hazards, especially the closely checking regulation of food safety and hygiene just enforced. There were six enterprises of Vietnam involved in this new regulation. Therefore, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, VASEP and NAFIQAD will enhance checking enterprises importing seafood to Russia.
Russia checks quality closely
In the end of 2006, Russia applied the new regulation of checking imported seafood, according to which, VPSS will directly check and then allow each enterprise to export seafood to Russia. Following that new regulation, Russia only allows enterprise founding on factory’s capacity, not agrees to outside processed products. Before exporting to Russia, the goods must be licensed by limited special department of Vietnam and be checked directly by VPSS.
Ms. Tran Bich Nga � Deputy Bureau Chief of NAFIQAD stated: frontier quarantine stations and checking offices at the ports of Russia are equipped with professional and modern checking devices which can discover strictly gene changes, radio-active on the product. Ms. Nga added: Russia’s new regulation of food safety and hygiene was, in some cases, more stringent than Codex (Europe’s standard). There are currently 32 enterprises of Vietnam permitted to export seafood to Russia through the 3 ports: Saint-Petersburg, Vladivostok and Novorosisk.
Measures to strengthen the safety for seafood products of Vietnam
To deal with and satisfy new regulations of Russia, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development supplied concrete guidance to NAFIQAD coordinating with VASEP, Embassy and Trade Affair of Vietnam in Russia, Trade Affair of Russia in Vietnam, etc in order to depute the Vietnamese cadre group to work in Russia and invite the 5 expert groups of VPSS to Vietnam for checking as well. NAFIQAD also contracted with VPSS to organize conversations, set up a mixed mission group to check the food safety between the two countries.
Also, to enhance checking the quality of seafood before exporting to Russia, NAFIQAD suggested Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development allow coordinating with custom house to periodically or suddenly check and supervise packing goods into containers at the entry ports so as to define the real export batches. Applying measure of serious treatment includes suspending provisionally the export towards enterprises which violate the regulations strictly or get cheating. NAFIQAD also invites the inspecting group of VPSS for re-checking in order to unchain the banning decree of import towards the enterprises that violate, but then investigate the causes seriously and have good overcome measures.
To enterprises, NAFIQAD suggested that it should enhance checking and controlling conditions of food safety and hygiene in the whole producing succession, especially hygienic conditions of factory, cold store, machinery, worker, water, ice water, material, finished product, etc; supplying NAFIQAD with information of the enterprises’ Pangasius farms and the production in the year; forbidding the process in other farms and using the bag filled with information of label, additive component, etc; controlling ice-plated rate fitting the regulation of under 10% for frozen Pangasius. To warned enterprises, it is serious to investigate the inflection causes, apply overcome measures and make report in time to be supported.
Vice minister of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development � Mr. Luong Le Phuong judged: though Russia’s new regulations are strict, it is not too hard to execute. Therefore, the enterprises have to follow and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will be determined to stop offering license for the enterprises which intentionally violate those regulations. Russia is a very potential market which needs maintaining and developing. Satisfying Russia’s requirements is to enhance prestige and trademark of Pangasius of Vietnam in Russia and in the world. Anticipating, the 4th meeting of the mixed mission group between NAFIQAD and VPSS will take place in February 2009 in Vietnam

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