HCMC – The Kim Thanh II international border gate in the northern province of Lao Cai has suspended customs clearance due to Covid infections detected in an adjacent area in China, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
On February 17, the ministry received an announcement from Lao Cai Province and the branch of the Vietnam Trade Office in China’s Kunming City saying that the neighboring country’s Hekou District suspended imports of Vietnamese goods after detecting Covid cases, the local media reported.
The Chinese authority will lock down Hekou District to conduct a mass Covid testing drive, and asked the Vietnamese side to cooperate with it to suspend exports through the Kim Thanh border gate, according to the announcement.
Due to the complicated development of Covid, the ministry asked provinces and cities to keep a close watch on the customs clearance at border gates to promptly update producers and exporters on the situation, so that they can adjust their production plans to reduce losses facing residents and exporters, and avoid the congestion of trucks at the border gates.
Earlier on February 7, the Import-Export Department under the ministry sent a dispatch to the industry and trade departments of provinces and cities informing of a potential backlog at northern border gates after the Lunar New Year holiday.
