Border gates in Lao Cai Province which borders China recorded trade value of US$3 billion in 2018, according to the customs office at the Lao Cai International Border Gate.

Nguyen The Hung, deputy head of the Lao Cai Border Gate Customs Sub-department, said the customs sector now offers 24/7 e-customs declaration and the sub-department has eased customs procedures for export goods, especially agricultural products. It has prioritised completing customs clearance as soon as possible to export all Vietnamese agricultural products in the morning.

Now, dozens of agricultural products are facilitated for export to China, such as dragon fruit, pepper, lychee, watermelon, mango, banana, cassava and potato.

Thanks to these efforts, last year, export value of agricultural products through the Lao Cai border gate reached $600 million, 60 per cent of total export value, Voice of Vietnam reported.

Nguyen Viet Quang, director of Lao Cai Customs Department, said businesses have enjoyed convenient customs procedures at border gates. Statistics showed that in 2018, 50 more businesses exported or imported through Lao Cai than the previous year.

In recent years, the province has won contracts due to having many trade promotion activities, such as a conference on connecting farming product importers and exporters between the two countries, an international trade conference, export promotion conference and the meeting of Vietnamese and Chinese export-import enterprises, according to the Lao Cai Department of Industry and Trade. — VNS