Vietnam releases agricultural product traceability system

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chen Desheng, stated that agricultural product traceability is an important tool for enhancing the added value of Vietnam's agricultural products and increasing consumer trust both domestically and internationally. Against the backdrop of rising market demands for quality, safety, and information transparency of agricultural products, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will first implement traceability management for durian and gradually extend it to other agricultural products based on the pilot program. It was introduced that the Vietnam agricultural product traceability system is a digital platform used for recording, managing, and querying source information of agricultural, forestry, and aquatic products at various stages including production, processing, transportation, and sales. Through this system, consumers can conveniently verify product information; national regulatory authorities can rely on data for supervision, statistics, and traceability investigations, thereby enhancing transparency, ensuring food safety, and consolidating the reputation of Vietnam's agricultural products in domestic and international markets. The system includes an information update module for producers, processors, and operators, as well as a regulatory and traceability module for national regulatory authorities. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development clarified that the system construction will focus on achieving three goals: one is to implement the durian traceability pilot program in accordance with Decision No. 5272/QĐ-BNNMT (dated December 13, 2025) and gradually expand it to other food-related agricultural products; two is to strengthen the responsibilities of enterprises and regulatory authorities, ensuring that agricultural products with official traceability labels meet quality and food safety requirements; three is to accelerate the application of technology, build a real-time traceability system, and simultaneously update and share new policies related to traceability management from the Party and the state. During the durian traceability pilot phase, the system will be organized and operated uniformly, covering data transmission, information query, technical support, and service hotlines, and will collaborate with relevant units of the Ministry of Public Security to load traceability data onto electronic anti-counterfeiting labels (QR, NFC, RFID) to ensure consistent and accurate information. The pilot period will run from January 1, 2026, to June 30, 2026. Initially, five enterprises will be mobilized to participate in the production-supply chain pilot, and electronic traceability certification labels will be uniformly issued and affixed to batches of durians that meet the requirements. After the pilot ends, relevant parties will evaluate the implementation effects, further improve technology and processes, and gradually promote the system to other agricultural products, aiming to achieve broader application by the end of 2026. (End)