A representative of a company in HCMC said she feels “like sitting on a fire” as containers of goods are stuck at the port. Her company has imported three containers of unprocessed walnuts from the US worth VND12.6 billion, and paid full import taxes of more than VND360 million.

On January 27, the goods arrived at Cat Lai Port (HCMC). According to the schedule, the shipment was to clear customs on January 29 so the company could move it to cold storage for preservation and examination.

However, according to the business owner, customs authorities at Cat Lai Port said procedures related to imported food products are temporarily suspended while awaiting guidance documents from higher-level agencies. So, customs clearance has not been permitted.

“They told us to wait, but I don’t know how long,” the company representative said.

Meanwhile, the goods must leave HCMC today (January 31) to be delivered on time to customers in Hanoi according to the contract. Its Hanoi branch still needs to process the raw materials, such as marinating, drying, and roasting the walnuts, then packaging them into finished Tet gift sets for delivery.

If the three containers are held at the port for too long, the business will suffer. First, it has to compensate the client in Hanoi. Second, the walnuts, without preservatives, may suffer from infestations while sitting outdoors for too long.

"If the imports aren't cleared soon, the damage could reach tens of billions of dong. Not to mention, I have four other containers about to arrive in Vietnam," she said, adding that the bottleneck arose when the Government's Decree 46/2026/ND-CP regarding food safety took effect on January 26, 2026, replacing Decree 15/2018/ND-CP.

Kim T., a representative of a food importing business in HCMC, added that the state inspection methods for food safety for imported goods in the new Decree 46 have changed completely compared to the old Decree 15. This is the sticking point.

Under the old Decree 15, the state inspection agencies for imported food were those assigned or designated by the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (former), or the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Under the new Decree 46, the state inspection agencies for imported food safety are state management agencies assigned tasks by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment or Provincial People's Committees under the decentralization mechanism.

According to T., previously in HCMC, there were four units designated as focal points for state inspection of imported food safety. Under Decree 46, these units are allowed to continue inspection work until March 31, 2026. However, because there is no specific guidance document after Decree 46 took effect, all these units have refused to accept business dossiers. Without a food safety certificate issued by these units, customs cannot clear the goods.

"Previously, the specialized units responsible for issuing certificates included Regional Plant Quarantine Sub-department II; Quality Assurance and Testing Center 3 (Quatest 3); Vinacontrol. Now, they all refuse to receive dossiers," added V T., a person specialized in customs procedures for food in HCMC.

Who is to blame?

With a large volume of imported food arriving to serve production and business activities for Tet sale season, this situation is causing serious congestion at border gate areas.

According to newly released statistics from the Customs Department, on January 30, 2026, about 300 vehicles carrying fresh agricultural products (vegetables and fruits) and confectionery goods at Kim Thanh International Border Gate (Lao Cai) had not yet obtained food safety inspection results required for customs clearance.

At Hoa Lu Border Gate (Dong Nai), 251 vehicles carrying dried cassava and banana chips were also awaiting food safety inspection results.

At several other border gates, the number of food shipments currently congested includes: Lao Bao (Quang Tri) with 50 vehicles; Dinh Ba (Dong Thap) with 100 vehicles; Vinh Xuong (An Giang) with 200 boats; Thuong Phuoc (Dong Thap) with 200 boats; and Tinh Bien (An Giang) with 200 vehicles.

On January 30, the Vietnam Dairy Association sent an urgent document to Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long.

The association said that all imported food shipments, including finished products and raw materials for production, are currently stuck at ports and unable to clear customs because state inspection responsibilities were transferred to provincial and municipal People’s Committees from January 27, 2026 under Decree 46/2026/ND-CP. However, provincial and municipal authorities have yet to issue any guidance.

Doan Bong