Dragon fruits processed for export in Tien Giang Province. The registration of REX Code for producers must be sped up to facilitate exports to the EU. – VNA/VNS Photo Nam Thai

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has urged the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry to speed up the registration of REX codes for producers to facilitate exports to the European Union (EU).

REX, or registered exporter system, is a system of certification of origin of goods based on self-certification.

The VCCI is in charge of receiving exporters’ application for registration of REX Code and carrying out the registration.

According to the ministry, the process of registering the codes has been slow.

The ministry cited figures on the EU’s REX Authorisation system that the VCCI had registered a REX Code for 429 producers or just 10.7 per cent of the total 4,000 exporters who were applying for C/O form A.

Some enterprises said they had sent documents to the VCCI for certification for a REX Code but had not received a response from the VCCI, according to the ministry.

The ministry asked the VCCI to speed up the registration of REX Codes for firms to facilitate exports to the EU, Norway and Switzerland, together with providing instructions for firms on how to complete documents for registration.

The REX system means producers would not need to apply for C/O form A each time they export goods to the EU.

Instead, they could self-certify the origins of the goods for orders with a value of below 6,000 euros and for orders worth above 6,000 euros, they would need to register REX Code at the VCCI for self-certification of goods origin. – VNS