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Exporting food from Vietnam

Food leaving Vietnam is checked by product. Plant products get a phytosanitary certificate from the plant quarantine authority, fresh fruit for some markets needs growing area and packing house codes, fishery products go through NAFIQPM's export certification, rice exporters hold a MOIT eligibility certificate, and the goods are declared on VNACCS.

Updated · Each section links to the official source it comes from

Plant products
Phytosanitary certificate within 24 hours of the start of inspection
Fresh fruit
Growing area and packing house codes where the importing country requires them
Fishery products
Export certification under Circular 48/2013/TT-BNNPTNT, run by NAFIQPM
Rice
MOIT certificate of eligibility for rice export business, valid 5 years
Coffee
Form ICO certificate of origin
Customs
Electronic export declaration on VNACCS

Before the goods leave

The questions to answer, in the order they usually come up.

  1. 1Is it a plant product that needs a phytosanitary certificate? Read more
  2. 2Does the importing country require growing area or packing house codes? Read more
  3. 3Is it a fishery or animal product that needs NAFIQPM certification or quarantine? Read more
  4. 4Is it rice or coffee, with its own export conditions? Read more
  5. 5Does it qualify for preferences, and which certificate of origin proves it? Read more
  6. 6Is the export declaration ready, with the licences and certificates it quotes? Read more

The rules, by area

What each area covers, the texts that set it, and what the official pages say.

Phytosanitary certificates for plant products

How fruit, vegetables, grains and other plant products are inspected and certified before export.

  • The owner of the goods files one registration for export plant quarantine with the nearest plant quarantine authority, on the form in Annex IV of Circular 33/2014/TT-BNNPTNT (Thông tư 33/2014/TT-BNNPTNT), as consolidated in 2023.
  • The authority checks the file at once, then decides where to inspect: the production site, the place of departure, an inland store or the border gate.
  • A phytosanitary certificate is issued within 24 hours of the start of inspection for a consignment that meets the importing country's phytosanitary requirements; if it takes longer, the authority must say why in writing.
  • A consignment that does not meet the importing country's requirements gets no certificate, and the owner is told.
  • Re-exports also need the exporting country's phytosanitary certificate, in electronic form or the original.
  • Certificates are issued by the regional plant quarantine sub-departments and the plant quarantine stations at border gates.

How we help: Compliant Always keeps each phytosanitary certificate with the consignment it covers, dated, and shows the registration that is still missing before the goods are booked. Ask about this

Growing area and packing house codes

Codes that identify where fresh produce was grown and packed, for markets that ask for them.

  • Decree 38/2026/ND-CP of 24 January 2026 (Nghị định 38/2026/NĐ-CP) governs growing area codes (mã số vùng trồng) and packing house codes (mã số cơ sở đóng gói); Resolution 36/2026/NQ-CP simplified the procedure from 31 July 2026.
  • Applications go online to the commune People's Committee where the growing area or packing house is, through the National Public Service Portal.
  • Where the grower registers to export to a market that requires codes, the commune inspects and issues the code within 10 working days, against the importing country's technical requirements.
  • Codes the importing country must approve go through the province to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, which sends the list to that country.
  • The Plant Production and Protection Department publishes the protocols and phytosanitary requirements agreed with importing countries, such as China's protocols for fresh and frozen durian, jackfruit, watermelon, coconut and rice.

How we help: Compliant Always records the growing area and packing house codes behind each lot and reads them against the protocol for the market it is going to. Ask about this

Fishery products and food of animal origin

Certification of seafood and other animal products for export.

  • Circular 48/2013/TT-BNNPTNT (Thông tư 48/2013/TT-BNNPTNT), amended by Circular 02/2017/TT-BNNPTNT, governs inspection and certification of food safety for exported fishery products.
  • MOIT's trade repository records that it requires taking part in the certified fishery export programme, with inspections before a food safety certificate is granted.
  • The Department of Quality, Processing and Market Development (Cục Chất lượng, Chế biến và Phát triển thị trường, NAFIQPM) publishes the businesses eligible for the fishery export certification programme, establishments listed for export, and bivalve mollusc establishments meeting EU requirements.
  • Exported aquatic animals and their products, and terrestrial animals and their products, must be registered for and undergo animal quarantine, with a quarantine certificate (Circulars 26/2016/TT-BNNPTNT and 25/2016/TT-BNNPTNT, as listed by the repository).

How we help: Compliant Always keeps the establishment's listing and each consignment's certificate together, and shows when a listing the shipment depends on has changed. Ask about this

Rice and coffee

Two commodities with their own export conditions.

  • Rice export business needs a certificate of eligibility from the Ministry of Industry and Trade under Decree 107/2018/ND-CP (Nghị định 107/2018/NĐ-CP), valid for 5 years.
  • The trader needs at least one rice warehouse and one mill or processing facility meeting the national technical regulations, owned or leased for at least 5 years.
  • Rice exporters keep a circulation reserve of at least 5% of their rice exports over the previous 6 months.
  • Coffee exports can get a Form ICO certificate of origin, a non-preferential form, from the Agency of Foreign Trade or a provincially assigned issuer.

How we help: Compliant Always keeps the rice eligibility certificate with its expiry date and shows it before it lapses, beside the certificates each shipment carries. Ask about this

Origin and trade agreements

Whether food qualifies for preferential duty in the destination, and the proof it needs.

  • Under the EVFTA rules in Circular 14/2026/TT-BCT, coffee, tea and spices (Chapter 9) may be made from materials of any heading, while cereals (Chapter 10) must be wholly obtained.
  • Prepared meat and fish (Chapter 16) need wholly obtained materials of Chapters 2, 3 and 16; bakery and cereal preparations (Chapter 19) have limits on the weight of meat, fish and certain cereals used.
  • A 10% tolerance by value or weight applies to non-originating materials for Chapters 2 and 4 to 24, except processed fishery products of Chapter 16.
  • The EVFTA provides for cumulation with ASEAN fishery materials, but the European Commission states that this cumulation does not currently apply.
  • Preferential certificates of origin are issued through MOIT's eCoSys system.

How we help: Compliant Always keeps the recipe, supplier origin documents and production records behind each origin claim, so the file answers a verification request. Ask about this

Export declaration

How food is declared to customs on the way out.

  • The exporter registers the declaration on VNACCS (EDA), amends it if needed (EDB) and submits it (EDC); registered information is kept for up to 7 days.
  • The system routes the declaration to the green, yellow or red channel: no check, a document check, or a document check and physical inspection.
  • The file includes the commercial invoice where the buyer pays, any export licence and any inspection certificate the law requires.
  • Licences and inspection certificates sent electronically by the issuing authority through the National Single Window need not be submitted again.

How we help: Compliant Always keeps the declaration with the certificates it quotes, so each shipment's paperwork is in one dated record. Ask about this

Who answers for what

WhoWhat they answer forHow we help
ExporterRegistering for plant or animal quarantine, the export declaration and the certificate of origin application.Each shipment's certificates and declaration in one dated record.
Grower, packer or processorGrowing area and packing house codes, establishment listings and the production records behind origin.Codes, listings and records kept with the lots they cover.
Customs broker or freight forwarderLodging the VNACCS declaration and presenting the goods if the red channel applies.The documents the declaration quotes, ready before cut-off.
Certifying authorityPlant quarantine authorities, NAFIQPM, animal health authorities and MOIT's origin issuers.What each certificate states, kept beside what the destination asks for.

Who issues what, and where

Under Circular 40/2025/TT-BCT, certificates of origin are issued by the Agency of Foreign Trade (Cục Xuất nhập khẩu) of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and by organisations that provincial People's Committees assign to the task, each for the forms listed in the Circular's annexes.

MOIT's published procedure for a certificate of free sale for exported goods names the provincial People's Committee as the issuing body.

Export phytosanitary certificates are issued by the regional plant quarantine sub-departments and the plant quarantine stations at border gates.

Where are the goods going?

Most of what food have to meet is set where they are sold. Each guide sets out the rules on arrival, with the official source for each.

Questions businesses ask

Do I need a phytosanitary certificate to export fruit from Vietnam?
A phytosanitary certificate is issued for a consignment that meets the importing country's plant quarantine requirements. The owner registers with the nearest plant quarantine authority under Circular 33/2014/TT-BNNPTNT, and the consignment is inspected before the certificate is issued.
How long does an export phytosanitary certificate take in Vietnam?
Within 24 hours of the start of inspection, for a consignment that meets the importing country's requirements. If technical work takes longer, the plant quarantine authority must say so in writing with its reasons.
What is a growing area code for fruit exports from Vietnam?
A code for one crop at identified plots of land, issued by the commune People's Committee under Decree 38/2026/ND-CP. Where the importing country requires codes, the commune inspects first, and codes the importing country must approve are sent to it through the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.
Which Vietnamese fruits have phytosanitary protocols with China?
The Plant Production and Protection Department lists protocols with China for fresh pomelo and lime, chillies, passion fruit, fresh and frozen durian, coconut, watermelon, jackfruit, mangosteen, banana, sweet potato, grass jelly, rice and rice bran.
How do I export seafood from Vietnam?
Exported fishery products are inspected and certified for food safety under Circular 48/2013/TT-BNNPTNT. NAFIQPM publishes the businesses eligible for its fishery export certification programme and the establishments listed for export to particular markets.
Do I need a licence to export rice from Vietnam?
A certificate of eligibility for rice export business from the Ministry of Industry and Trade under Decree 107/2018/ND-CP. It needs a qualifying warehouse and mill, owned or leased for at least 5 years, and is valid for 5 years.
Is there a certificate of origin for coffee exports from Vietnam?
Yes. MOIT publishes a procedure for the Form ICO certificate of origin for exported coffee, a non-preferential form issued by the Agency of Foreign Trade or a provincially assigned issuer.
Does Vietnamese food qualify for EVFTA preferences?
Only if it meets the product-specific rule in Circular 14/2026/TT-BCT. Coffee, tea and spices may use materials of any heading, cereals must be wholly obtained, and prepared fish needs wholly obtained fish. The proof is a Form EUR.1 or, up to €6,000, the exporter's origin declaration.
How is food declared for export from Vietnam?
Electronically on VNACCS, with the commercial invoice and any licence or inspection certificate required. The system assigns the green, yellow or red channel, which decides whether documents or goods are checked.
How does Compliant Always help with exporting from Vietnam?
Our team reads the rules for the routes you ship. Compliant Always shows which export documents apply to your product, keeps them with the shipment beside what the destination asks for, and watches the sources for changes. It shows what the requirements say and what your documents show; you decide.

Sources

Compliant Always is a product of Lettuce Labs LLC. It shows what requirements say and what your documents show. It is not legal advice, and you decide.

Tell us what you make, and we will show you the rules for it.

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