Lao Cai: "Clear the way" for the peak month of lychee export

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Kim Thanh international border gate No. II inLao Cai. Photo: T.B

Ready for the peak month

At the Kim Thanh international border gate No. II, Lao Cai in the early days of May, we saw the export and import activities improved as the Covid-19 pandemic gradually eased. Customs officers and authorities here plan to be ready for clearance ofgoods expected to increase sharply in the coming days, especially the peak month of lychee export.

Talking to areporter, Deputy Head of Lao Cai Economic Zone Authority Ha Duc Thuan, said normally, the peak of export-import season in Lao Cai is usually from May onwards, especially for fresh lychee.

"An average of more than 30,000 tons of fresh lycheeis exported through Lao Cai province per year and this only takes place over a month," said Thuan.

Motivated by this situation, on May 6, authorities in Lao Cai had a meeting with Ha Khau district authority and Ha Khau border gate management board (Van Nam province, China) to discuss solutions to best meet the clearance of goods associated with the pandemic and smuggling prevention.

According to Thuan, the authorities in Lao Cai made specific proposals to Ha Khau district authority,such as suggesting the Chinese side implement measures to ease disease control to meet trade demand between the two countries; extending the clearance time for goods at Kim Thanh - Ha Khau border gate from 7am to 7pm daily to 22 hours daily (extended by three hours per day); studying plans to allow agricultural exports via rail to reduce congestion at Kim Thanh international border gate No. II; allowing the use of big trucks (several tens of tons) to transport fresh lychee through the border (as for dragon fruits) instead of using small trucks as before.

In addition, the Lao Cai economic zone management committee has just put into use the cargo yard of Kim Thanh Logistics Company (from May 1) for export activities, avoiding traffic jams of vehicles carrying exported goods at the border area. Along with that, the committee has also proposed asking the People's Committee of Lao Cai province to build a new storage yard for export goods KB2 with an area of ​​about 10 ha.

Motivated bythe recent preparations, the authorities in Lao Cai expect that the import-export activities in the area to continue to prosper, especially to ensure the creation of favorable conditions during the peak month of lychee exports.

According to the reporter, on May 8, at the area of ​​Kim Thanh international border gate No.II, the authorities have also equipped mobile barriers to classify channels for areas specializing in exporting fresh lychee.

Positive signs

Talking more about facilitation for import and export goods at Kim Thanh international border gate No. II, Deputy Director of Lao Cai International Border Gate Customs Branch Tran Anh Tu said that the Branch always followed the situation, implemented solutions effectively and synchronously to create the most favorable conditions for import and export activities, especially the export of agricultural products.

“Not only in the upcoming peak of lychee export, but for many years, in every holiday, Tet holiday and especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, the branch has arranged officers to work seven days per week to handle procedures for the business community. Because in Lao Cai, even during the Lunar New Year, there are still import and export activities, so the branch always takes the initiative,”said Tu.

As the Covid-19 pandemic gradually passed, the anti-pandemic measures were relaxed together with the efforts of the authorities and the business community, import and export activities in Lao Cai have seen a significant growth.

Typically, in April, Lao Cai Customs Department handled import and export procedures for 216 enterprises, an increase of 23 enterprises compared to March. Notably, the number of import and export declarations and turnover at Lao Cai Customs also increased sharply with 3,253 declarations, an increase of 788 declarations; and a turnover of US$184.2 million, up as much as 86.3%. In April, exports and imports at Lao Cai Customs Department both increased sharply, of which, export turnover was US$109.3 million, up 97% and import reached US$74.9 million, up 72.6% from the previous month.

Accumulated in the first four months, Lao Cai Customs Department handled procedures for 328 enterprises, an increase of 29 enterprises compared to the same period in 2019. However, although import-export turnover increased sharply in April, but due to the decrease in the first quarter, import and export turnover in the first four months of the year still accounted for 84.4% compared to the same period last year (US$508.7 million).

Regarding budget revenue, in April, the department earned VND120.47 billion and in the four months, VND475.5 billion, equivalent to 29.68% of the year’s estimate target (target of VND1,600 billion) and only 73.3% over the same period of 2019.

Lao Cai continues to provide solutions to achieve import-export turnover of US$ 4 billion VCN- Facing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, Chairman of Lao Cai People's Committee has issued a ...

In May, the leaders of Lao Cai Customs Department instructed the branches to continue to strengthen facilitation to import and export activities to contribute to increasing the budget revenue, especially the two branches with many trade activities such as Lao Cai international border gate customs branch and Lao Cai international railway station customs branch.