In the last days of January 2026, the border gate area of Tay Ninh province fell into a serious agricultural congestion situation when hundreds of trucks carrying fresh cassava from Cambodia could not clear customs. The reason stemmed from problems when applying new regulations on food safety inspection, causing businesses and people to face the risk of great losses. Faced with the urgent situation, the Tay Ninh provincial government promptly intervened and removed difficulties.
Accordingly, on January 26, 2026, the Government issued Decree No. 46/2026/ND-CP detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Food Safety and taking effect immediately upon signing. According to Article 21 of the decree, imported agricultural products used as food must be inspected by conventional methods, including taking samples to test food safety indicators.
However, for items with high characteristics such as fresh cassava, this regulation is almost impossible to apply. The storage and processing time of cassava only lasts from 24 to 48 hours after harvest, while the waiting time for test results can be from 7 to 15 days. If not cleared in time, cassava quickly reduces starch content, rots, generates microorganisms and must be removed.
According to customs forces, due to the decree taking effect too quickly, businesses did not have time to prepare adaptation plans. The congestion situation began to become tense from the afternoon of January 29 at Xa Mat and Chang Riec border gates. On average, every day, nearly 28,000 tons of fresh cassava and more than 9,000 tons of cassava slices are imported from Cambodia through Tay Ninh.
Many businesses are facing the risk of heavy losses when dozens of container trucks are backlogged, the damage rate exceeds 40% after just a few days of waiting. Not only businesses, people participating in transportation also suffer great pressure when goods degrade quickly under hot weather, while drivers and traders have to eat and sleep at the border gate for many days in a row.
More worryingly, raw material congestion also threatens the operations of more than 60 wheat starch processing plants in Tay Ninh province, which is creating jobs for about 30,000 workers. If production is interrupted during the Lunar New Year, economic damage and social security impact will be very large.
Faced with that reality, Tay Ninh Provincial People's Committee organized an emergency meeting with relevant departments and branches and connected online with the Sub-Department of Plant Quarantine Region II. Provincial leaders were directly present at the border gate to grasp the situation, recording that many shipments were damaged from 50-60%, even forced to be dumped.
On January 30, Tay Ninh Provincial People's Committee issued an urgent report to the Prime Minister and ministries and sectors, and issued a document agreeing on the policy of allowing customs clearance of agricultural products while waiting for specific guidance from the Central Government. The province also proposed applying a reduced inspection method for sugarcane and fresh cassava to minimize losses for businesses.
After being agreed in principle by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, border guards, customs and phytosanitary forces at the border gate have coordinated to work continuously, even outside of office hours. The inspection process is adjusted flexibly, focusing on dossiers and the actual condition of goods instead of waiting for prolonged test results.
By the afternoon of January 31, 2026, the first convoys of agricultural products had been cleared after three days of congestion. Production activities at factories were gradually restored, and workers were reassured when raw materials were circulated.
From this case, the locality continues to propose to ministries and sectors to adjust and supplement the guidance of Decree 46/2026/ND-CP to suit reality, especially for imported raw materials serving industrial processing.
