Warning about harmful smuggled seedlings

Trading and planting forestry plants without testing, evaluation and permission from competent authorities is a violation of the law, with many unpredictable consequences.

High-tech seedling production in Vinh Long province.

Recently, in some localities, many people have been selling the "Ky Hai Nam" tree with very attractive advertisements such as money tree, agarwood tree, 1 hectare can earn tens of billions of dong after 6-7 years of planting,... On forums, associations, and groups on social networking platforms, there have also been many discussions about planting, investing, and advertisements about this tree with a selling price of 150,000-500,000 VND/tree, with a commitment that each tree can earn from several million to tens of millions of dong. Some owners of tree seedlings are even willing to sign contracts, committing to purchase all products when the trees meet harvest standards, committing to 100% of the trees producing agarwood after 6-7 years...

According to the Vietnam Agarwood Association, the Ky Hai Nam varieties advertised and sold are grafted from the Chinese Aquilaria tree, which has no scientific name and is smuggled into Vietnam. The information advertised on social networks has not yet been verified by the authorities, and may cause misunderstanding and misconception about the value of agarwood obtained from this tree.

On June 8, the Economic Police Department, Vinh Phuc Provincial Police (now Phu Tho) initiated a criminal case and prosecuted four individuals for smuggling 5,000 Aquilaria trees from China to Vietnam through unofficial channels. However, for profit, many individuals still disregard the law, buying, selling, transporting, and smuggling plants that have not been licensed by the authorities.

According to the Vietnam Agarwood Association, the Ky Hai Nam varieties advertised and sold are grafted from the Chinese Aquilaria tree, which has no scientific name and is smuggled into Vietnam. The information advertised on social networks has not yet been verified by the authorities, and may cause misunderstanding and misconception about the value of agarwood obtained from this tree.

Faced with the increasing situation of smuggling, trading and planting Ky Hai Nam seedlings, threatening biodiversity, the safety of the forest ecosystem and the rights of the people, on September 16, the Department of Forestry and Forest Protection (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) issued an official dispatch requesting localities to inspect and review all organizations and individuals engaged in production, business, storage and use of forestry plant varieties in the area, ensuring that forestry plant varieties must have legal origin and meet quality standards according to regulations.

The Department also requires strict inspection of compliance with legal procedures for each batch of imported forestry plant varieties such as original documents, certificates of origin, quarantine certificates, import permits, etc. in accordance with the provisions of Decree No. 27/2021/ND-CP on forestry plant variety management. In case of detecting imported forestry plant varieties that have not been recognized, have no records, have not been tested according to regulations, or show signs of harmful alien varieties, they will be seized and promptly handled in accordance with regulations.

The Department of Forestry and Forest Protection affirmed that imported forestry plant varieties are only allowed to be produced and traded after testing, trial planting and variety recognition according to the provisions of Decree No. 27/2021/ND-CP of the Government and Circular No. 22/2021/TTBNNPTNT of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (now the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment).

Trading and cultivating forestry plants without testing, evaluation and permission from the authorities is a violation of the law, with many unpredictable consequences. Therefore, people need to be extremely careful with plants of unknown origin, including the Ky Hai Nam species currently being sold, to avoid being taken advantage of. The long-term consequences and final economic losses are all borne by the growers.

Source: https://baosonla.vn/phap-luat/canh-bao-cay-giong-nhap-lau-gay-hai-i7mVN3qNR.html