- Is there anything on the cooler to eat?

- The remaining two salted fish are completely slippery, brother.

Two men with a strong Western accent spoke loudly to hear clearly in the space full of air conditioners running, in the middle of a packed parking area with containers lying motionless. That is Mr. Tran Khanh Trung, a driver carrying agricultural products from Cao Lanh (Dong Thap) to Tan Thanh border gate (Lang Son) to export to China. Having worked as a driver for ten years now, every trip from Dong Thap takes him about 2 days to complete customs clearance at Tan Thanh border gate. But for the same number of years, the first time he was stuck here for nearly half a month.

The Chinese side closed, Tan Thanh parking lot was packed, Trung and more than 1,000 other drivers had to stop at Pac Luong non-tariff area (Tan Thanh commune). The road is less than 10 km from Pac Luong non-tariff area to Tan Thanh border gate, long lines of containers lie on the highway. Drivers suffer from poverty, eat and sleep on the spot to take care of goods and move their cars to the border gate.

@Zhang Khoi

The arduous journey of thousands of drivers stuck at Lang Son border gate About 4,800 trucks carrying agricultural products have been stuck at Tan Thanh border gate (Lang Son) for nearly 20 days. Drivers have to live in temporary situations, 'eating on the shore and sleeping in the dust' while the goods have deteriorated.

Stop customs clearance, Lang Son province border gates are overloaded

As of the morning of December 18, according to information from the Department of Industry and Trade of Lang Son province, there were more than 4,800 container trucks lying at Tan Thanh, Huu Nghi and Chi Ma border gates. From December 8, the Chinese side has suspended import and export activities of goods through the Chi Ma - Ai Diem border gate (Ninh Minh district, Guangxi province, China).

In the following days, the clearance capacity at the border gates from Vietnam to China was only a few dozen to 200 vehicles. There are days when no car can be luxurious when the border area of your country is closed.

The area of the dividing line between Vietnam and China is closed.

Most of the export products are agricultural products transported from the provinces of Dong Thap, Binh Dinh, Binh Thuan, Tien Giang... There are trucks that have been waiting for nearly 20 days and still have not been returned. The most is Tan Thanh border gate with 2,842 containers, mainly at Bao Nguyen bus station (close to the border gate), Pac Luong non-tariff area and a part of vehicles located along the road. Huu Nghi border gate has 1,312 vehicles in stock, mainly located in Doc Quyt beach.

At Doc Quyt wharf area - the place to wait for cars to go to Huu Nghi border gate - many cars have not left the station since December 7. Functional forces including police, border guards, medical ... are present 24/24h to keep order and safety in the wharf area. Because drivers come from many places, control during the epidemic is very important. Every 3 days, drivers are tested for Covid-19 to ensure their health.

At 8 am, driver Tran Khanh Trung opened the back door of the container to let cold air circulate. Running more than 1,700 km from Cao Lanh (Dong Thap) to Tan Thanh border gate to export goods, the two drivers are paid 6 million VND/person. This trip, his container contained 35 tons of acacia mango. Before leaving, Mr. Trung estimated that it would take about 2 days to finish the job. From now until Tet, he tries a few more trips to "warm the stomach".

"When I got close to Lang Son, the brothers up here called to say the border was closed. We couldn't turn around anymore, so we just drove up and waited in the parking lot. Every year there was no traffic, but we thought it would take a few days to pass as usual. I don't think for a long time like this," Trung said. His car is still under the non-tariff yard, about 8 km from Tan Thanh border gate. As of the morning of December 18, this area had more than 1,400 cars waiting out of a total of 2,842 cars stuck at Tan Thanh border gate.

Because the product is acacia mango, Trung has to run the air conditioner to keep the temperature at a stable level of 6-8 degrees Celsius for preservation. Every day, he spends from 800,000 VND to 1 million VND for engine oil. That is the common situation of thousands of drivers who are stuck at border gates in Lang Son province, when exported products here are mainly agricultural products such as jackfruit, mango, dragon fruit, watermelon... good or the time in the cold box is too long, the quality of the goods will decrease, the dragon fruit will begin to wilt, the outer skin of the jackfruit will be black, the mango is ripe... even if it is damaged, it must be thrown away.

Trung's 35 tons of acacia mango, when imported, were still green, and now have begun to change the color of the skin. Every day drivers like him have to open the box to check the goods. Sometimes they have to split the fruit to see how ripe the fruit is. "At this speed, if Tan Thanh can move up, it will probably be another ten days. At that time, the fruit will be fully ripe, sometimes even more than half damaged," said Trung.

If the congestion continues for a long time, he is likely to have to make up for the loss of the container this time. "Now, what's the salary, it's already gone. If the acacia mango warehouse is ripe, only the country can sell the house to compensate. 35 tons of goods are also 200-300 million, "said Mr. Trung listlessly said. .

Cargo trucks are divided into two types: hot goods and cold goods. Refrigerated cars have a cooled engine, keeping fruit longer, about 10 days. Hot trucks are vehicles that are left open and have a short shelf life of agricultural products. For these vehicles, the authorities at the parked parties will prioritize procedures to go first. However, because the number of vehicles cleared every day at Tan Thanh border gate area is very low, there are days when the border gate is completely closed and no cars pass, so many hot trucks have been waiting all week. In the hot sunny days of mid-December, many jackfruit cars are already full of aroma, making the drivers more worried.

Vehicles carrying agricultural products that do not use air conditioning are given priority to go first, but are still stuck on the road to Tan Thanh border gate.

The worry of damaged goods is not only Trung's own but also of all drivers who are stuck at this border gate area. For many nights, they stayed up until late to move the car every meter to the parking area near the border gate. Vehicles entering the parking lot will be subject to a tax of 400,000 VND/day. But for many days in a row, they still don't know when they can clear customs.

Every time he moved the car about 2-3 m, Mr. Hoang Hai went back to the small bed behind the driver's seat to rest. In the past two weeks, the area of less than 2 square meters has become his living and resting place. His car arrived in Lang Son from the 4th, it's been half a month now, he still has 1 km to go before entering Tan Thanh beach.

"If you drive the car into the front yard, you still don't know when you will be able to clear customs," Mr. Hai said. The male driver also added that normally for each shipment from Tien Giang to the border gate, he is paid 7 million wages. But this trip makes up for the wharf money, the money for running the engine to keep the agricultural products cold also consumes most of the public money.

Thousands of drivers eat and sleep on the spot to look after goods and wait for customs clearance

At 14:00, drivers wait in line at the service bathing area in the parking lot. "This is the sunniest time of the day, take advantage of the bath to avoid the cold," Trung said. In front of the door there is a sign of 25,000 VND / turn, this is the price for a bucket of hot water and a bucket of cold water. This service was only opened recently, when the drivers had to "stay in the shower" for many days.

As for the drivers who are leaving the car waiting on the road, they do not have the opportunity to use that service when they have to stay in the car and have no means of transportation. Eating, bathing these days is also less important when the worry about goods is on their shoulders.

- Trung, will you have dinner with us?

- There are only two salted fish in the car here. Let's go out and buy a bunch of vegetables for dinner together.

Trung replied to the truck driver next to him. Stuck in the non-tariff area next to each other for ten days, they became acquainted. Sometimes they ask each other for chillies and lemons, and when they run out of food, the drivers will cook together to save money. The mobile food store opened recently, but they only bought a few more vegetables because of the high price.

Driving long distances, longtime drivers are used to carrying cooking utensils to save costs. Travel gas stoves, rice, salted fish, eggs... are usually stored in the cold compartment of the container. However, food is only enough for 4-5 days of sugar. They did not expect this time to be stuck for so long.

"10,000 VND / bottle of water, used for eating, brushing teeth, washing face. Then money for meals, money for parking... if you don't save every dong, you won't be able to make up for it," Trung said.

Out of the wharf area, a long line of cargo trucks is located along the B2 road to enter Tan Thanh border gate. A group of hot cargo drivers arrived in Lang Son 5 days ago. For items that are not refrigerated, the waiting time is shorter, so they are given priority by the bus station management. However, they still had to endure the situation of standing still when the border gate area was full of parking spaces.

"This car doesn't run on oil for cooling, so the company or the dealers don't pay any extra costs. It's all on the driver's side," said a driver in the group.

About 1 km from the border gate area is the group of driver Nguyen Van Hoang. Driving from Binh Dinh, carrying more than 20 tons of dragon fruit, Mr. Hoang has been stuck in this situation for half a month. Because it is located in the middle of the road, there are no bathing services or selling food and clean water around like in the yard. The 200 liters of water he keeps in a tank under the car is a meager source of water these days. Accompanying Mr. Hoang is the driver Ho Van Thin. The two men took turns looking after the car and taking a nap. The 2 m2 cockpit with a mattress just enough for one person behind the wheel became their sleeping place for many days.

Sharing rice with Mr. Hoang, there is also Mr. Pham Van Nhan's car right next to it. The men from Phan Thiet, Binh Dinh, Dong Thap ... each one in one place and then got to know each other from the time they suffered from congestion. "Some days we can move a few meters, other days we lie still because they close the border gate. The cars here have been stuck for nearly twenty days. Our drivers are so easy to play with each other. We are all vigilant. There's a shortage of food and drink, so everyone can contribute something to eat for fun," said Mr. Nhan.

Mr. Nhan said the drivers here are at least 2-3 days, many times this week, they haven't showered because of lack of water. However, the matter of bathing did not bother him with goods. Nhan's car runs air-conditioner every day to preserve 20 tons of dragon fruit, which have now withered. Many days impatience, the elderly man repeatedly checked the temperature and then looked at the boxes again.

Having worked as a driver for many years, Mr. Nhan has witnessed prolonged traffic jams many times. "If any brother runs for the company, the company will bear it. Those who run outside, hug the goods, the salary will not be left to worry about additional losses. If the goods are damaged, it is normal for him to bear 200-300 million. It is normal for people to go. Borrowing, the seller of the house goes to pay for it", Mr. Nhan confided.

"There has never been a year that has been blocked for so long. I thought I would make a little more money after Covid-19 to go home to celebrate Tet with my family, but in this situation, the shipment will probably take a long break, not run anymore", Mr. Nhan said while rest in a temporary hammock in the cockpit.

In the evening in the highlands, the temperature is much different than during the day, the group of drivers take advantage of the fire and then sit to warm up. Not knowing when they will be cleared, they can't do anything to solve the current situation, they can only lie and wait and leave this trip to luck.

On the afternoon of December 18, Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh asked ministries, branches and People's Committees of provinces and cities to continue strictly implementing the Prime Minister's instructions on promoting production, circulation, consumption and export. agricultural products in the context of Covid-19 epidemic prevention and control. As for the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Deputy Prime Minister requested to continue negotiating with the Chinese ministries, branches and localities to increase the clearance time at the border gate, creating favorable conditions for the export of Vietnamese agricultural products; proactively grasp the situation of import and export, customs clearance of goods and arising problems affecting the delivery, customs clearance, import and export of goods in order to have appropriate handling solutions.

While the parking lots around the border gate area were overloaded for many days, the number of container trucks continued to accumulate in Lang Son province. On December 17, there were 4,785 cars lying in wait, on December 18, 46 more cars were added.

Thach Thao