VietNamNet Bridge – The amount of scrap imported into Vietnam is likely to rise considerably, the Ministry of Finance has warned.

Customs officials in HCM City conduct inspections of 20 containers of scrap metal imported from Japan at Cat Lai Port. — VNA/VNS Photo

As other countries worldwide restrict the amount of scrap material allowed in, the MoF has warned in a draft regulation that Vietnam could become a dumping ground.

This year, China has black-listed eight different materials considered scrap and won’t allow them to be imported into the country.

Malaysia has also banned scrap from entering the country, and there are now fears importation of unwanted materials may shift towards Vietnam.

According to statistics from the General Department of Customs, on average there has been more than 2,000 containers of waste imported into Vietnam each week.

The draft report also said there has been an increase in waste arriving in the country which has raised concerns among the community and caused pollution.

In some cases, businesses in Vietnam have falsified legal documents pretending the materials coming in are for production use.

The Ministry has asked local authorities, especially those on borders, to be on the look out for such scams, and prevent and smuggling cases.

It also said customs should take a closer look at suspicious containers arriving at ports.

The draft regulations say each ministry and sector needs to take responsibility to control banned materials coming into the country.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) will work with cities, provinces and peoples’ committees to collect information including names, tax codes, addresses or those who were granted an import license.

The MoNRE should also release inspection results of imported scrap quality, which was granted by natural resources and environment departments to entities and individuals using the imported material.

The MoNRE has to set up teams to review environment conditions.

According to the ministry’s figures, the total volume of scrap imported into Vietnam last year was more than 9.2 million tones, increasing by 1.3 million tones compared to 2017.

Notably, plastic scrap dramatically increased in the first six months when China slapped a ban on importing it.

Since July last year, thanks to close inspection and monitor by the customs, the plastic scrap imported to Vietnam dropped to 107,000 tones from 274,7000 tones, said the Ministry of Finance. 

Source: VNS