Seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and plant quarantine: variety recognition and self-declaration, seed production and trade, plant variety protection, fertiliser recognition, production and import, pesticide registration and the permitted and banned lists, plant quarantine and pest risk analysis, genetically modified and gene-edited crops, and market entry for a foreign input supplier

The regulatory map for crop inputs

Three statutes govern what a farmer may plant and apply. Law No. 31/2018/QH14 on Crop Production regulates plant varieties, fertilisers and cultivation; Law No. 41/2013/QH13 on Plant Protection and Quarantine regulates pesticides, pest control and plant quarantine; and the Law on Biodiversity No. 20/2008/QH12 governs genetically modified organisms. Plant variety protection sits in the Law on Intellectual Property No. 50/2005/QH11, as amended, most recently by Law No. 131/2025/QH15 (FAQ 84). The first three were reshaped from 1 January 2026 by Law No. 146/2025/QH15, adopted on 11 December 2025, which amended 15 laws in the agriculture and environment field, shortened time limits, abolished several licences and moved the power to set procedures from the Government to the Minister of Agriculture and Environment and many decisions to provincial People's Committee chairmen.

Decree No. 94/2019/ND-CP on varieties and Decree No. 84/2019/ND-CP on fertilisers, both amended by Decree No. 130/2022/ND-CP, remain in force where not replaced; Decree No. 33/2026/ND-CP of 21 January 2026 amended Decree No. 84/2019/ND-CP, Decree No. 116/2014/ND-CP on plant protection and Decree No. 66/2016/ND-CP on business conditions for pesticides and quarantine treatment. Circular No. 07/2026/TT-BNNMT, in force from 23 January 2026, now sets the procedures for variety recognition, fertiliser recognition and import permits, pesticide import permits and plant quarantine import permits. Licences issued before 2026 stay valid for their stated terms (Article 17 of Law No. 146/2025/QH15). The national regulator is the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection (Cục Trồng trọt và Bảo vệ thực vật) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment; the regulators and the wider statute book are introduced in Agricultural legal framework and regulators.

Plant varieties: recognition, self-declaration, production and trade

Article 13 of the Law on Crop Production divides varieties in two. A variety of a main crop species, on the list issued by the Minister (rice and maize are the best-known examples), may be produced, traded, exported or imported only after a decision recognising it for circulation, except for research, trials, exhibitions, international exchange or producing hybrid seed for export. Every other variety may be circulated on the producer's own self-declaration under Article 17, stating the name, the cultivation and use value against the national or in-house standard, and the variety information and production process; the Department publishes it on its portal within five working days, and trade may begin once it appears (Circular No. 07/2026/TT-BNNMT, Article 7). A Vietnamese organisation or individual, or a foreign organisation with a representative office or branch operating in the seed sector in Vietnam, may apply (Article 13(3)).

Recognition requires a variety name, results of tests for distinctness, uniformity and stability, results meeting the national standard for cultivation and use value, a reference sample and published variety information (Article 15(1)), and the tests must be run by an independent testing organisation recognised for the purpose (Article 13(5)). Once the dossier is complete, the Department decides within 15 working days. The decision now lasts 20 years for annual crops and 25 years for perennial crops, extendable (amended Article 15(2)); an extension is filed within the six months before expiry and decided within five working days. Decisions issued before 2026 run for 20 or 25 years from issue, and varieties listed in the old list of varieties permitted for production and trade may continue for the same periods (Article 17(10) and (11) of Law No. 146/2025/QH15). Specialty and indigenous varieties long in use may receive special recognition without the full test cycle (Article 16).

A seed producer must have a site and equipment meeting the national standard for the production method or, absent one, its own standard; a seed trader must have a lawful place of business and keep lot traceability (Article 22, as amended from 2026, which removed the requirement that the producer own or be licensed to the variety). Grafted perennial crops rely on elite mother plants and mother orchards recognised by the province (Article 24; Circular Article 8), and seed labels must show the variety name, class, circulation code, lot code, dates and origin (Article 27; Circular Article 9).

Imports and exports. Recognised or self-declared varieties may be imported under the foreign trade rules, and seed imported for production or sale must pass State quality inspection by the Ministry's crop production authority (Article 29(1) and (3)). Unrecognised varieties may be imported or exported only for research, trials, advertising, exhibition or non-commercial exchange, with a permit now issued by the provincial People's Committee chairman within 10 working days (amended Articles 28(2) and 29(2); Circular Articles 10 and 11). Appendix I of the Circular lists genetic resources that may not be exported, including certain rice, fruit and tea varieties, hybrid parental lines and Ngoc Linh ginseng. Imported planting material also passes plant quarantine, described below.

Plant variety protection

Recognition allows a variety to be sold; it does not stop others selling it. Exclusivity comes from a plant variety protection certificate under Part Four of the Law on Intellectual Property. A variety qualifies if it is new, distinct, uniform and stable and has a suitable denomination (Article 158). It is new if its propagating or harvested material has not been sold by or with the consent of the breeder in Vietnam more than one year before filing, or abroad more than six years before filing for trees and vines and four years for other species (Article 159). The certificate runs from grant for 25 years for trees and vines and 20 years for other varieties (Article 169). It gives the holder the exclusive right to produce, condition for propagation, offer, sell, export, import and stock propagating material (Article 186), subject to exceptions for private non-commercial use, breeding research, creating new varieties and a household's use of its own harvest to replant its own land (Article 190).

Foreign breeders from countries that have a plant variety protection agreement with Vietnam, or with a residence or production establishment in Vietnam, may apply (Article 157(2)); Vietnam is a member of UPOV and applies the 1991 Act. Applications are examined by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment through the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection, which publishes filings and grants on its portal, and a breeder may ask for recognition for circulation and protection to be processed together (Article 13(4) of the Law on Crop Production). Licensors of protected varieties should police the farm-saved seed exception; enforcement is covered in IP enforcement and anti-counterfeiting.

Fertilisers: recognition, production, trade and import

Fertiliser is a conditional good that must hold a decision recognising it for circulation in Vietnam, save for organic fertiliser made for non-commercial use, fertiliser imported under an import permit and fertiliser made for export under contract (Article 36(1)). A domestic organisation or a foreign organisation with a representative office or branch in the fertiliser field may register, one name per formula (Article 36(3) and (4)). The product must meet the national technical regulation on fertiliser quality, now issued with Circular No. 86/2025/TT-BNNMT, and have trial results meeting the national standard, save for types exempted from trials (Article 37(1)). Under Article 13 of Circular No. 07/2026/TT-BNNMT the Department appraises within three months; recognition lasts five years (Article 36(2)), and an extension, filed at least three months before expiry with a report on production, import and use, is decided within seven working days. Article 12 of the Circular classes fertilisers as inorganic (chemical), organic or biological, and as root or foliar fertilisers.

Production needs a certificate of eligibility to produce fertiliser, valid for five years (Article 41). Since 2026 the conditions are a production site and workshop suited to the scale, a production line and equipment suited to each type, separate areas for raw materials and finished goods, and a production manager with a university degree in crop production, plant protection, soil science, agronomy, chemistry or biology; Law No. 146/2025/QH15 removed the in-house laboratory and ISO quality system conditions. Under Article 17 of Decree No. 84/2019/ND-CP as rewritten by Decree No. 33/2026/ND-CP, the provincial People's Committee chairman decides after an inspection completed within 17 working days, and renewal is filed three months before expiry.

Trading no longer needs a certificate. Amended Article 42 requires only a lawful, identified place of business and sellers trained as the Ministry directs, unless they hold an intermediate qualification in a relevant field, and Decree No. 33/2026/ND-CP repealed the dossier for the former trading certificate. Imports of recognised fertiliser need no permit, for the registrant or an importer it authorises (Article 44(1)). A permit is needed for unrecognised fertiliser imported for trials, sports grounds and recreation areas, foreign-funded projects, gifts and samples, fairs, research or as a raw material for other fertiliser (Article 44(2)); since 2026 temporary imports for re-export, transit, bonded warehouses and export processing zones no longer need one. The provincial authority decides within seven working days (Circular Article 17). Imported fertiliser is subject to State quality inspection (Article 46). Fertiliser has been taxed at 5% VAT since 1 July 2025 (VAT and e-invoicing).

Pesticides: registration, the lists, production, trade and import

Vietnam controls pesticides through two lists issued by the Minister. A pesticide may be produced, traded and used only if it is on the List of pesticides permitted for use in Vietnam, and substances on the List of pesticides banned may not be used. The current lists are in Circular No. 75/2025/TT-BNNMT of 26 December 2025, in force from 10 February 2026, which replaced Circular No. 25/2024/TT-BNNPTNT; it added 17 new active ingredients, six of them biological, and kept a banned list of 31 active ingredients. It removed carbosulfan, which may be produced for three months and sold and used for two years, and benfuracarb, which may not be imported and may be sold and used for one year. Circular No. 28/2026/TT-BNNMT, in force from 15 August 2026, added several hundred trade names. Earlier reviews, as reported in the press, removed paraquat, 2,4-D, chlorpyrifos ethyl, fipronil, carbendazim and glyphosate.

Registration is open to domestic manufacturers of active ingredients, technical material or formulations from technical material, to foreign manufacturers with a representative office, company or branch trading pesticides in Vietnam, and to an entity meeting the production or trading conditions authorised by either (Article 50). The dossier includes the testing permit, the label and the results of efficacy trials in Vietnam (Article 51(1)), so registration follows a trial programme under a testing permit (Articles 55 and 56) run by a recognised testing organisation. Since 2026 the Department appraises within four months, after which the Minister adds the product to the permitted list and a registration certificate valid for five years issues (Article 51(2) and (3) as amended). The detailed rules are in Circular No. 21/2015/TT-BNNPTNT, as amended, most recently by Circular No. 07/2026/TT-BNNMT.

Production and trade. A pesticide factory needs a certificate of eligibility to produce, and a shop or distributor a certificate of eligibility to trade, each valid for five years (Article 66) and, since Decree No. 33/2026/ND-CP, issued by the provincial People's Committee chairman. Production workshops and stores must be located in an industrial park or industrial cluster and meet the national regulation on hazardous chemicals, and the director needs a university degree in chemistry, plant protection, biology or agronomy; the authority inspects within 20 working days for production and 10 working days for trade, and decides within five. Sellers need an intermediate qualification in a relevant field or a pesticide training certificate.

Imports. The registrant of a listed pesticide may import it, or authorise another importer, without a permit (Article 67(1)), subject to State quality inspection at import (Article 67(3)). A permit is needed for unlisted pesticides imported for re-export, for manufacture for export under contract, for trials, research, foreign projects, samples and exhibitions, for fumigants containing methyl bromide or active ingredients of acute toxicity class I or II under the GHS, and for banned substances imported as reference standards (Article 67(2)). Since 2026 the provincial People's Committee chairman issues it (amended Article 67(5)), after an appraisal completed within five working days, for up to 12 months, or within the calendar year for methyl bromide (Circular No. 07/2026/TT-BNNMT, Article 3).

Plant quarantine for imports and exports

Plant quarantine protects Vietnam against foreign pests and certifies exports to the standards of importing countries. Circular No. 14/2024/TT-BNNPTNT, in force from 15 December 2024, issues two lists. Goods on the list of articles subject to plant quarantine need a phytosanitary certificate from the exporting country, must be free of regulated and new pests and must have packaging treated to Vietnamese standards (Article 26(1) of Law No. 41/2013/QH13). Goods on the narrower list requiring pest risk analysis before import are planting materials (seedlings, seeds, tubers and propagating parts, except tissue-culture plants and seeds of crucifers, rice, maize, millet, onion and garlic), fresh fruit, and fresh sweet potato and potato tubers. For these, the central plant quarantine authority conducts a pest risk analysis on information supplied by the exporting country's authority and then permits or refuses imports from that country (Article 27); market access for a new fruit or a new origin therefore runs government to government and can take years.

Once access exists, each shipment of a risk-listed article needs a plant quarantine import permit (Article 26(2)), issued by the Department within 10 working days and valid for up to 12 months (Article 9 of Circular No. 43/2018/TT-BNNPTNT as replaced by Circular No. 07/2026/TT-BNNMT); since 2026 the dossier no longer includes the commercial contract or business registration (Article 28(1) as amended). The importer registers each consignment before import, the authority fixes the place and time of inspection within one working day, and the certificate issues within 24 hours of the start of inspection if the goods comply; goods are cleared through customs only after quarantine is complete (Articles 29 and 33). Imported planting material is subject to post-entry quarantine (Article 30). From 2026, bringing soil into Vietnam is prohibited, except plants imported with soil in their root ball as the Government permits and soil for scientific research (new Article 13(5a)).

Exports on the quarantine list are certified to Vietnamese law and the importing country's requirements (Article 31), and many protocols also require registered growing areas and packing houses (Horticulture: fruit, vegetables and flowers). Fumigation and treatment providers need a certificate of eligibility from the central authority under Decree No. 66/2016/ND-CP as amended.

Genetically modified and gene-edited crops, and feed

Law No. 146/2025/QH15 redefined the boundary of biotechnology regulation. Amended Article 3(27) of the Law on Biodiversity defines a genetically modified organism as one whose genetic material has been changed by gene technology and contains new genetic material from another species, or synthetic material unlike that species' genes; new Article 3(32) defines a gene-edited organism as one changed by gene technology without such foreign or synthetic material. Amended Article 65 requires the Government to regulate how both are identified and managed. Until it does, Decree No. 69/2010/ND-CP on the biosafety of genetically modified organisms, as amended, continues to apply under Article 17(1) of Law No. 146/2025/QH15. In outline, that decree requires a biosafety certificate before a genetically modified crop is released into the environment and a certificate of eligibility before it is used as food or animal feed, and the variety rules apply in addition; earlier decisions specially recognising genetically modified varieties remain valid under Article 17(10) of Law No. 146/2025/QH15. Investors in gene-edited traits should follow the forthcoming decree closely, because the new definition is intended to separate them from GMO regulation.

Animal feed, including feed made from crops, is regulated under Law No. 32/2018/QH14 on Animal Husbandry and is covered in Livestock, aquaculture and animal health.

Market entry for a foreign input supplier

1. Choose the presenceA representative office or branch in the sector is enough to register varieties, fertilisers and pesticides (Article 13(3) and 36(3) of the Law on Crop Production; Article 50(2) of Law No. 41/2013/QH13), but importing and distributing require a company with the trading rights and business licence a foreign-invested trader needs (FAQ 95; section 11.1 on market access).
2. Map the productsClassify each product, check the pesticide lists and the quarantine lists, and identify HS codes.
3. Run the trialsCommission variety tests, fertiliser trials or pesticide efficacy trials (under a testing permit) with recognised testing organisations in Vietnam.
4. Register and protectFile for recognition, self-declaration, fertiliser recognition or pesticide registration with the Department, and file plant variety protection before the novelty period lapses.
5. Secure supply routesFor seed and planting material, confirm that a pest risk analysis exists for the origin and obtain quarantine import permits; obtain any fertiliser or pesticide import permits from the province.
6. Produce or toll-manufacture locallyA local factory needs a production certificate from the provincial chairman; a pesticide plant must sit in an industrial park or cluster.
7. Distribute compliantlyUse distributors that meet the trading conditions, label in Vietnamese, keep lot traceability and diary every renewal.