Seafood firms urged to register online

Fish being processed at An Lạc Trà Vinh Seafood Co Ltd before export to the EU. — VNA Photo Vũ Sinh

HÀ NỘI — The National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department has urged local seafood producers to apply for e-certificates through the national single window registration system.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s agency, known as NAFIQAD, said in a statement sent to local companies early this week that sea product processing companies must study the single-window regulations published on the websites of the Việt Nam National Single Window, the General Customs Department, MARD and NAFIQAD.

In the statement, local seafood producers are required to contact NAFIQAD’s local representative offices so that they will receive instructions to apply for e-certification for sea products via the national single window registration system.

In addition, seafood enterprises need to prepare required procedures such as e-signatures and accounts and register for e-certification of product packages that are being exported to South Korea and China from March 1 onwards. E-certification for seafood exported to other markets such as the EU will be done after the system is completed.

From March 15, NAFIQAD will stop receiving and resolving complaints and appeals over wrong information in the paper certification for sea products that are exported to South Korea and China if incorrect information is provided by the companies.

NAFIQAD also asks its local offices to generalise the effectiveness of using the National Single Window registration for all seafood processing and exporting companies in the area.

NAFIQAD on May 16, 2016 asked its local offices in the Cà Mau Province, HCM City and Cần Thơ City to pilot two new administrative procedures on the national single window registration system in order to grant certifications for local prioritised and non-prioritised seafoods that are exported to China and South Korea.

Since, NAFIQAD’s local offices have processed more than 1,200 registrations on the system and have granted nearly 600 e-certifications to local seafood companies.

However, the number of e-certificates granted to Vietnamese seafood producers on the national single window registration system has been less than expected, because a number of NAFIQAD’s local offices and seafood companies have remained unwilling to use this method.

In the near future, NAFIQAD will stop receiving paper registrations and local companies will only be able to submit their registrations on the national single window system.