HCMC – The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on June 9 asked the Ministries of Industry and Trade, Health, Public Security, Transport, Foreign Affairs and Finance to help boost the consumption of agricultural products.
The proposal was made as the harvest season of many kinds of farm produce is arriving, while many localities are having difficulties with transport and sales, news site VnExpress reported.
According to Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan, localities have different levels of awareness of the pandemic so they have worked out different response plans, making it difficult to transport agricultural products between provinces. Vehicles transporting agricultural products are not allowed to pass through some Covid-19 checkpoints although drivers and cargo have been certified as safe from Covid-19.
The problem with the transportation of agricultural products will push costs up and affect the quality of the products. Therefore, the relevant ministries should work out a process to remove this bottleneck, Minister Hoan said.
Specifically, he suggested the Ministry of Industry and Trade create favorable conditions for the supply and consumption of cargo between virus-hit provinces and others.
The Ministries of Transport and Public Security should allow the transport of agricultural products if drivers have Covid-19 safety certificates issued by the competent healthcare agencies.
In addition, the Ministry of Health was asked to consider the issuance of safety certificates for agricultural products the requirements and vaccinate drivers transporting cargo at the earliest.
Hoan also proposed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs conduct negotiations with countries sharing a border with Vietnam on Covid-19 vaccine passports for drivers transporting cargo through border gates.
