Production unit codes boost Hung Yen’s agricultural integration into RCEP

At the conference “Updates on food safety and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) regulations and commitments under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)” held on October 21 in Hung Yen, experts and policymakers agreed that the production unit code is no longer just a technical requirement but has become a mandatory “passport” for Vietnamese agricultural products to advance further in global trade.

From 47 production unit codes to the goal of official export

According to the Hung Yen Department of Agriculture and Environment, the province currently has 387 production units and farming households certified under VietGAP standards, covering 4,759 hectares, along with six organic production areas spanning 48.2 hectares. Notably, the province has issued 47 production unit codes for agricultural export areas, covering a total of 348 hectares, with a primary focus on key fruit crops, including longan, orange, banana, lychee, and safe vegetables.

These figures mark a significant step forward in traceability, production standardization, and brand building for local agricultural products. Obtaining production unit codes not only enables products to meet phytosanitary requirements from importing countries but also provides a foundation for enterprises and cooperatives to participate in official export value chains.

Hung Yen has more than 150,000 hectares of agricultural land, including 20,685 hectares of fruit trees yielding over 345,000 tons per year. Production unit codes help well-known local products such as longan, lychee, orange, and banana gain access to demanding RCEP markets like China, Japan, and South Korea.

Despite notable progress, implementing and managing production unit codes in a synchronized manner remains challenging, particularly with the push toward digital transformation and transparency. Many farmers and cooperatives are still unfamiliar with production logkeeping, digital data management, or keeping up with regulatory changes from importing markets.

Provincial leaders acknowledged that both enterprises and local authorities are facing difficulties in updating new SPS requirements. Therefore, support from the Vietnam SPS Office is crucial for training and technical guidance.

According to MSc Dinh Duc Hiep from the Viet Nam Sanitary and Phytosaniary Notification Authority and Enquiry Point (‘Vietnam SPS’), RCEP, which includes ASEAN and five partners, China, South Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, accounts for 30% of global GDP. Chapter 5 of the agreement specifies food safety and SPS measures, emphasizing transparency, cooperation, and harmonization of standards among member countries.

Since 2022, China, the largest market in the RCEP bloc, has implemented Decrees 248 and 249 on the registration of food production facilities for imported products. Most recently, on October 14, China issued Decree 280, which replaces Decree 248 and takes effect on June 1, 2026.

The new regulation introduces risk-based management, meaning that enterprises and production areas must not only comply with food safety standards but also demonstrate their capacity to manage risks at each planting area and packing facility. Mr. Hiep noted that this represents control from the source to ensure agricultural products are monitored throughout the entire supply chain, starting at the production site.

Beyond China, other RCEP markets such as Japan, South Korea, and Australia apply similar mechanisms, requiring clear traceability information, biosecurity standards, and certified clean production.

Vietnam SPS has pledged continued support for localities in training, updating SPS regulations, and guiding the preparation of planting area and packing facility dossiers in line with RCEP standards. This is considered a key solution to help local producers adapt to international requirements and enhance the competitiveness of Vietnamese agricultural products.

For agricultural products to go far, production codes must go first

At the conference, Dr. Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc, Deputy Director of the Plant Protection Research Institute, emphasized that technical barriers in agricultural trade are becoming increasingly stringent, especially in major import markets such as China, the EU, the United States, Japan, and Australia.

Each export shipment must be traceable to its production unit code and packing facility code. These codes are not mere identifiers, they serve as proof that the production area complies with phytosanitary regulations, pest monitoring, and environmental safety standards.

According to Dr. Ngoc, to maintain sustainable export production areas, producers must ensure essential conditions such as soil quality, water sources, crop varieties, cultivation practices, and pest management measures. Recent surveys by the Plant Protection Institute have shown widespread soil degradation in citrus-growing regions, with low pH, calcium and magnesium deficiencies, imbalanced NPK ratios, and declining biological activity. These issues directly affect the long-term stability of production areas.

In addition, production zones must adopt Integrated Plant Health Management (IPHM) comprehensively. All activities must be documented, from using disease-free seedlings and greenhouse propagation to regular monitoring with light traps and yellow sticky traps.

By combining cultural, biological, and chemical control methods, such as using antagonistic fungi, spraying biological preparations, and installing pheromone traps, pesticide residues are reduced, and pest-safe production zones that meet import market standards are created.

In the context of deep integration, the production unit code is no longer just a matter of the crop sector. Still, it has become a symbol of agricultural value chain governance capacity. When each shipment can be traced back to the very field it came from, farmers are not only selling products but also selling trust, brand reputation, and transparency.