Ministries, localities tasked with handling cargo congestion

According to the notice, the Deputy PM urged the Ministry of Health to coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to issue specific guidelines on COVID-19 prevention and control at northern border areas, especially Lang Son, Quang Ninh and Lao Cai provinces, which should match China’s standards.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) will organise conferences with businesses, commercial centres, supermarkets and markets to seek solutions to sell the stranded goods.

The MARD was also assigned to sketch out a master plan on agricultural production and fishery, with regulations on product origin and food safety, while diversifying the market and transportation forms to ease Vietnam’s reliance on China.

The MoIT will coordinate with the MARD and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to hold working sessions with major importers like the EU and the US to stave off the present difficulties.Deputy PM Thanh also tasked the Ministry of Information and Communications, Vietnam Television, Radio The Voice of Vietnam and the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) to step up the communication work, thus raising public awareness of solutions to handle the cargo congestion.

The Office said as of January 8, a total of 3,609 container trucks had been stuck at northern border gates, down 2,150 from the end of December.However, there are potential risks and difficulties amid complex developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, it noted. Last September, the Government and Prime Minister Pham  Minh Chinh issued a directive on the promotion of agricultural production, consumption and export.

Deputy PM Thanh on December 27 also chaired a working session with ministries, agencies and localities to seek ways to deal with bottlenecks to imports and exports via northern border gates.