Sprouts stamped with origin traceability.(Photo: VNA) Linh said that origin tracing remained scattered due to the lack of connectionand sharing among sectors and localities.
The portal for origin tracing was expected to be completed by the end of thisyear, Linh said, adding that it would be an effective tool to promotetraceability not only in Vietnam but also with other countries.
Linh said that origin tracing also contributed to promoting the digitaltransformation at enterprises, optimising operational efficiency, improvingproductivity, product quality and enhancing brand and building trust withconsumers as well as creating a transparent business environment.
The system would also provide accurate data for market analysis and buildingplans, strategies and policies to orient production towards internationalstandards.
In fact, origin tracing was not a new thing, he said. Previously, origintracing aimed to serve enterprises to control production quality but now itbecame a requirement of consumers and markets.
Bui Ba Chinh, Deputy Director of the National Numbering and Barcodes Centreunder the Ministry of Science and Technology, said that a portal to manageorigin traceability was becoming a pressing requirement.
The portal would be connected with other domestic and international origintracing systems to manage, update and share databases about products. It was alsothe place to receive complaints and recommendations.
The national traceability portal would also rely on data, statistics and AItechnology to provide analysis.
Planting area codes: an asset
Focusing on building many new planting area codes and improving the quality ofexisting ones was an important direction to open up export opportunities.
Planting area codes should be considered an asset of owners, requiring effortto increase quality and protect the codes.
Statistics showed that there were about 6,500 planting areas and 1,600packaging facilities in 33 provinces and cities that granted codes for exports.
To date, 710 codes were revoked due to failure in meeting the qualityrequirements of importing markets.
Dang Phuc Nguyen, General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit Association, said thatit was very difficult to obtain a planting area code and it would cause damageif the code was revoked. He added that it took a lot of time to apply for thecode, once revoked, again, not to mention the costs and effort, which wasaround 2-3 times longer than applying for a new one.
Currently, many countries have increased inspection and supervision of qualityat planting area codes.
Localities must attach special attention to supervising quality at existingplanting areas which had been granted codes to avoid revocation, he said.
Any fraud in using codes must strictly be handled to protect brands, he added.Thailand, for example, had regulations with very strict punishments for fraud.
Nguyen Dinh Tung, general director of Vina T&T, said that owners ofplanting areas should be active in improving quality and applying for codes toget ready for exports.
According to Hoang Trung, Director of Plant Protection Department under theMinistry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the codes of planting areas andpackaging facilities were compulsory for sustainable exports.
He urged localities, enterprises and owners to protect the codes and ensureproduction to meet requirements of markets./.
VNA
