Da Lat lifts ban on Chinese potato imports after ten days
The ban on imports of Chinese potatoes into a wholesale market in the Central Highlands city of Da Lat did not last as long as consumers hoped.
Vendors at the wholesale Da Lat produce market were prohibited from buying Chinese potatoes on November 1, but the ban was overturned on November 10, according to local authorities.
The administration of Da Lat, the capital city of Lam Dong Province, decided to lift the ban on Chinese potatoes on the heels of a recent meeting with traders of the market.
Local traders are now allowed to source Chinese potatoes if they have all the required receipts and papers for the products, according to the Da Lat administration.
They must also commit themselves to not covering the Chinese potatoes with the typical red dirt of the Central Highlands in order to make them look like Da Lat-grown products, a trick usually employed to dupe consumers, which led to the original ban.
The disguised Chinese potatoes have been sold at the price of real Da Lat products despite being of poorer quality, ruining the reputation of Da Lat potatoes.
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| A vendor holds a basket full of Chinese potatoes at the wholesale Da Lat produce market in Lam Dong Province, located in Vietnam's Central Highlands, on November 10, 2015. Photo: Tuoi Tre |
Traders are now only allowed to wash and clean their potatoes but they are not permitted to use red dirt, according to the city’s administration.
They are also required to place correct labels on products to avoid misleading consumers. Those imported from China must be sold under labels that say they are “of Chinese origin,” according to the regulation.
The Da Lat administration has apparently made the about-face under pressure from potato sellers in the market.
The move came less than a week after the city set up a special team to act as ‘gatekeepers’ to the wholesale market, which was then seen as a determined move to stop Chinese products disguised as local ones from entering there.
The gatekeepers had been expected to be on duty 24/7 at the entrance to the wholesale market until the end of this year.
On November 5, the watchdog team caught and seized a batch of Chinese potatoes from a vendor, which led to a wave of protest from other traders, who threatened to stop doing business there.
An official from the city’s administration, however, admitted that the ban had been imposed “quite hastily,” despite its necessity.
“If vendors have all the necessary papers for the Chinese potatoes, it is not right to fine them or seize their products,” he said on condition of anonymity.
The removal of the ban is therefore “a necessary move” of the municipal administration to “fix its regulations,” the official said.
Da Lat is known as Vietnam’s hub of fresh, clean vegetables which are distributed countrywide.