‘Passive’ Vietnamese exporters struggling to cope with US regulations

03-Sep-2017 - Last updated on 04-Sep-2017 at 06:40 GMT

Related tags Export

Vietnamese food exporters remain “passive and sluggish” in complying with the demands of their target markets, especially America.

Instead, they should continuously update their processes to ensure exports continue to markets with more rigorous requirements, delegates at an event hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam have been told.

Under US Food and Drug Administration rules, all foreign firms exporting food and beverages must re-register for food-safety approval every two years.

Yet even though Vietnamese businesses have “tried hard” to comply with the FDA’s Food Safety Modernisation Act, an increasing number have been put on America’s alert list.

FDA data show that the number of approved Vietnamese businesses has fallen from 1,485 to 806 since last year, because 679 import licences were not re-registered in time, according to Mark Gillin, vice-chairman of the American chamber.

Ly Thi Tu Duyen, of Ben Tre Export, said Vietnamese firms are struggling to export goods to America due to its strict rules.

“Vietnamese enterprises are confused when catching up with the changes in the FDA’s new regulations,” he said.