Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Vietnam is to tighten inspection of localagricultural products and packaging in a response to recent incidents in whichproducts from the Southeast Asian country were reported to show signs ofdeliberate tampering with registered trademarks and origins, according to theMinistry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

The ministry said foreign markets, especially high-end markets, demandexporters to strictly follow rules on product packaging as a way to ensurehigh-quality and safe-to-consume products.

Since the establishment of agricultural product zones and modern packagingfacilities in Vietnam, the country has been able to build a number of relativelywell-known brands, which helps boost demand for its products. Exporters andproducers have also been working closely together to support farmers inimproving the quality of products and tailoring them to the needs of specificconsumers.

Tampering with product origin or subpar packaging standards can get Vietnameseproducts banned from certain markets and hurt the country's image ininternational markets.

It's high time Vietnam started paying more attention to product origin andpackaging. The ministry said the country should aim to expand its list ofregistered products to include additional entries as well as to set up measuresto oversee the packaging process to make sure required standards are observedand enforced.

The ministry said it has received numerous notices and complaints regardingtampered product origins and subpar packaging. Several markets have gone as faras issuing official warnings, meaning further violations may result in acomplete ban of Vietnamese products.

A recent MARD report said local governments must step up and play a large rolein inspecting and overseeing the production of local products as well ashandling penalties. The ministry has ordered the country's plant protectiondepartment to work with importers and foreign markets to stay up to date on thecurrent requirements and import regulations. Officials from the departmentswere told to provide exporters and farmers with support and information in theevent they run into technical complications with buyers in foreign markets.

Last year's export turnover of agricultural, forest and fishery products in Vietnamreached a record high at 48.6 billion USD, an increase of nearly 15 percentcompared to 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Of which, turnover foragricultural products exceeded the yearly target by 4.6 billion USD./.