The Lao government is cracking down on a host of consumer goods, from bottled drinking water to fish sauce, that don’t have proper labels showing they are registered with the government.
But residents say the warning isn’t likely to have any impact as corruption is rife amongst officials who are tasked with weeding the goods out at the border.
On Oct. 9, the Lao Ministry of Industry and Commerce issued a notice prohibiting the import and sale of food products that are not registered with the Ministry of Health’s Food and Drug Administration, beginning Jan. 1, 2025.
The notice requires importers to display FDA registration numbers and other relevant information in Lao on the labels of their products.
The reason appears to be to protect consumers against dangerous or questionable products.
“This [ban] can’t be enforced because it’s difficult in Laos,” said one resident who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke to RFA on condition of anonymity due to security concerns. “Everything can be imported if you deal with the right inspection official. If something is restricted, you just pay a little money - that’s how it is with the officials.”
Border officials, like other civil servants in Laos, earn a paltry salary, and many turn to graft to supplement their income and support their families.
Another resident noted that goods are regularly brought into the country from China, Vietnam and Thailand by smugglers who pay bribes to border checkpoint officials to look the other way.
“It can’t be done - they can’t restrict it at the border,” said the resident, who also declined to be named. “A lot of smuggled goods come in. These days it’s mostly Vietnamese, Chinese and Thai products coming into Laos.”
RELATED STORIES
To tame inflation, Laos orders closure of all money changing shops, import limits
Laos can feed itself, but its food security is complicated
Laos orders temporary ban on imports of pricey vehicles
But the sources RFA spoke with said they agreed with the premise of the ban, as a wide variety of food supplement products are being sold throughout the country with no clear label of origin.
“Some could be fake products that cause side effects when consumed, so the government should strictly inspect importing companies and thoroughly investigate the source [of the products],” a third resident said. “If they can enforce it, that would be good. Things like cosmetics can be very dangerous, and food supplements too.”
‘Many products slip through’
An official with knowledge of the situation told RFA that the notice was intended to inform all import-export companies, wholesalers, retailers and domestic producers that they need to accurately label their goods, as part of a bid to build consumer confidence in Laos.
“Many food supplement products use exaggerated advertising claims and may contain chemical additives that could cause cancer or other side effects, which Lao authorities haven’t fully investigated,” said the official.
He acknowledged that “many products slip through” the border and authorities have little data on what impacts they have had on the people who consume them.
“If we find such products now, we will seize and detain them, and destroy them according to the law,” he said.
The official provided no details on the volume of goods believed to be smuggled into the country or why smuggling is rampant at the border.
According to the notice announcing the ban, labels detailing a product’s registration number and other relevant information in Lao must be affixed at the factory of the product’s origin, and will be required beginning Aug. 1, 2025.
During the transition period, importers, exporters, wholesalers, retailers and domestic producers can affix the information to their products with printed stickers.
Translated by RFA Lao. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.