Wholesale markets in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are flooded with Chinese agricultural produce such as ginger and garlic. A wholesaler said imported Chinese ginger has been widely sold in Vietnam for years.
Chinese ginger is bigger and looks fresher and cleaner than the locally grown type, and is therefore more popular with consumers despite its high price.
However, Vietnamese consumers were recently shocked to learn, via a Chinese TV channel earlier this week, that farmers in Weifang City in Shandong Province have been overusing the pesticide aldicarb in growing ginger for years.
The pesticide is highly toxic and farmers had been using three to six times above permissible levels.
Extended consumption of the chemical can cause dizziness, blurred vision, nausea and respiratory failure. The chemical exists for a long time in the soil and water.
Nguyen Xuan Hong, head of the Department of Plant Protection, said Chinese ginger is imported mainly through border gates in the northern provinces of Lang Son and Lao Cai.
The department said that in April staff tested Chinese lemons and discovered it contained excessive amounts of the chemical carbendazim, which is used to kill insects.
Earlier, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development had announced that many Chinese produce contained excessive amounts of dangerous chemicals.
Source: SGGP
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