Friendship Pass Shuts Down to Vietnamese Dragon Fruit

As border crossings between Vietnam and China continue to suffer from severe congestion, another piece of bad news has come out of the Friendship Pass. Because samples taken from Vietnamese dragon fruit have tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus three times recently, local authorities in Pingxiang County in China’s Guangxi province issued an announcement on Dec. 28 stating that customs clearance services for Vietnamese dragon fruit at the Friendship Pass would be suspended from Dec. 29, 2021, to Jan. 26, 2022.

It is reported that over 5,000 trucks are waiting in line to enter China through land ports in Vietnam’s Lang Son and Quang Ninh provinces. Under China’s strict epidemic prevention measures, the cross-border flow of both people and goods will still be subject to strict inspections until March 15, 2022. On the basis of the current clearance efficiency, the congestion observed at the border crossings between Vietnam and China is anticipated to last until China’s Spring Festival, according to customs authorities in Lang Son.

Lang Son Customs recently issued a warning alerting the public of the current situation and advising local companies to use rail services to transport goods to China where possible. Because this mode of shipping requires fewer people, it is considered to be safer, faster and more cost effective at present.

On Dec. 29, officials from China’s Nanning Customs held a meeting with their Vietnamese counterparts from Lang Son, Quang Ninh and Cao Bang in the hope of creating favorable conditions for agricultural trade between the two countries.

It is currently harvest season in the south of Vietnam. As large quantities of fruits from this region are unable to reach China, fruit prices in Vietnam have been witnessing a downward trend, with those for jackfruit, watermelons and dragon fruit dropping by over half.

According to Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, provinces in southern Vietnam are forecast to produce 297,000 metric tons of dragon fruit, 250,000 metric tons of bananas, 244,000 metric tons of mangos, 159,000 metric tons of jackfruit, 144,000 metric tons of pomelos, 132,000 metric tons of oranges and 127,000 metric tons of pineapples in the first quarter of 2022.

Image: Pixabay

This article was translated from Chinese. Read the original article.