Proposing Saudi Arabia to lift temporary suspension of Vietnamese aquaculture products

The meeting and discussions took place during the Prime Minister's attendance to the ASEAN-GCC High-Level Conference and a bilateral visit to Saudi Arabia.

After an inspection of the pangasius production chain in Vietnam in December 2017, Saudi Arabia issued Notice of Administrative Order of Saudi Food and Drug Authority Ref. No. 21174 dated 23 January 2018 entitled: "Temporary ban on the importation of fish and crustacean and other products of aquatic animal origin originating from Vietnam".

Upon receiving this directive, the Department of Quality Management and Market Development  (formerly the Department of Quality Management for Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development actively sent multiple documents to Saudi Arabia while providing complete information and results of corrective actions at the latter’s request. 

After extensive efforts in exchange, negotiations, on September 22, 2020, Saudi Embassy in Vietnam sent a note to Vietnamese authorities to notify them of the decision from the Saudi Arabia Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) allowing 12 Vietnamese enterprises to export wild-caught fish to the country. To date, Saudi Arabia has approved a list of 38 Vietnamese aquaculture processing companies allowed to export their products to Saudi Arabia. However, Saudi Arabia still applied a suspension on the import of aquaculture products from Vietnam.

To address this issue, the Department of Quality Management and Market Development has sent letters to the SFDA, proposing prompt notification of an on-site inspection plan in Vietnam regarding the catfish production and export chain to Saudi Arabia as a basis for considering allowing Vietnamese aquaculture product exports to Saudi Arabia.

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development also sent a letter to the SFDA, requesting the dispatch of a technical delegation to assess the food safety control system for aquaculture production chains (shrimp and pangasius) in the shortest time possible, with the aim of subsequently lifting the temporary suspension of imports of aquaculture products from Vietnam.

In this context, during the meeting with the SFDA, Deputy Minister Tran Thanh Nam proposed that the SFDA consider sending a technical delegation to inspect aquaculture farming areas and seafood processing facilities to assess and recognize a range of aquaculture products for export to Saudi Arabia. In the short term, he suggested that the SFDA lift the ban on the import of Vietnamese aquaculture products, starting with farmed shrimp, and ultimately remove the entire temporary suspension on the import of Vietnamese aquaculture products.

The Deputy Minister also requested the SFDA to provide complete regulations related to imported seafood safety control, including Halal certification, to the Vietnamese side as soon as possible.

In the coming time, both sides will work towards signing a mutual recognition agreement on food safety in the aquaculture production chain to facilitate trade for businesses in both countries. Additionally, they will enhance information exchange to promote trade in Vietnamese strengths such as rice, seafood, tea, coffee, processed chicken, and honey, as well as Saudi Arabia's strengths including inorganic and organic fertilizers, through the organization of seminars, exhibitions, and business forums to attract the attention of businesses from both countries.

On the SFDA side, Mr. Hisham Saad Aljadhey agreed to send a technical delegation to Vietnam as soon as possible in 2023, closely coordinating to develop a work program with localities and seafood production plants.

With Vietnam's proposal, the SFDA stated that both sides will draft and work towards signing a mutual recognition agreement on food safety in aquaculture production, providing the basis for businesses from both sides to promote the import and export of aquaculture products.

Mr. Hisham Saad Aljadhey expressed support for and will cooperate with Vietnam's specialized agencies to provide information and guidance in building Halal product standards, thereby creating conditions for products produced in accordance with Halal standards to enter Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern markets. He also suggested that both sides work on boosting the export of Vietnamese rice to Saudi Arabia in the near future.

In the middle of September, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Tran Thanh Nam, hosted a meeting and discussion with Saudi Ambassador Abdullah I Alkhorayef, together with the Delegation of the General Department of Foreign Trade and the Saudi Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The Vietnam - Saudi Arabia Business Forum, held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was attended by a delegation from the General Department of Foreign Trade and the Saudi Chamber of Commerce and Industry earlier the week before.