Fruits container congestion worsens at Vietnam-China border gates

By Anh Minh February 17, 2020 | 01:15 am PT

Container drivers at Tan Thanh Border Gate in Lang Son Province on February 4, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy.

756 fruit containers were waiting at Vietnam’s northern border gates with China Sunday as cross-border trade remained restricted by the Covid-19 outbreak.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade said that containers carrying dragon fruits, watermelon and jackfruits have kept proceeding to the border gates in the northern provinces of Lang Son and Lao Cai despite advice against doing so.

Although China had opened some border gates with Vietnam las week, trade was slower because there was a shortage of Chinese staff due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the ministry said.

Many of the fruits at these border gates are from southern provinces like Tien Giang and Dong Thap where farmers are harvesting their crops and seeking to sell their produce abroad.

The ministry had cautioned drivers about traffic congestion since several Chinese border gates remain closed and advised them to find other avenues to sell the produce.

Many traders have decided to sell their produce at lower prices in other northern localities instead of waiting for the border gates to reopen.

Fruit container trucks have been standing idle at Vietnam-China border since the Lunar New Year holidays last month due to the outbreak.

China is the largest market for Vietnamese agriculture, forestry and seafood products, accounting for 27.8 percent of the sectors’ exports of almost $8.5 billion last year.