Vietnamese farm products flourish online

Vietnam’s fresh green banana leaves are sold at JPY2,280 per leaf on Amazon Global Japan, equivalent to VND500,000. This has attracted public interest, opening up a new direction in goods consumption and helping popularize Vietnamese agricultural products.

In addition to banana leaves, many other agricultural products of Vietnam are also making good use of e-commerce. For example, Vien Phu Green Farm’s Hoa Sua organic rice has been advertised on retail sites such as Amazon.com and Alibaba.com and on Facebook. This high-quality Vietnamese rice brand has also been exported to the discerning UK market.

Ho Chi Minh City’s R2D Food Technology Science Joint Stock Company has advertised its no-smoke charcoal on Alibaba.com and Lazada in order to seek foreign partners. This product has found its place in Hong Kong, China and is heading to the US market.

Tran Thanh Hai, deputy director of the Agency of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said exports of Vietnamese agricultural products have reached tens of billions of US dollars annually, in part due to the use of e-commerce. Together with the increasing access to online public services, such as e-customs, electronic certificates of origin and many other public services related to import and export, businesses are using the internet to exchange information with foreign partners. E-commerce helps businesses improve efficiency at all stages, from marketing and trade promotion to conducting customs procedures and implementing contracts. It is also efficient in familiarizing the public with Vietnamese brand names.

However, the number of businesses using e-commerce is still limited. With 2018 being a key year for international economic integration in 2018 given the planned signing and implementation of several major free trade agreements, businesses have to work hard to improve product competitiveness. Promoting branding and strengthening consumption through e-commerce channels are vital.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade will formulate additional policies to support Vietnamese businesses in e-commerce activities. These will not only help promote domestic consumption, but also expand exports. In addition, the ministry will also focus on organizing Vietnamese Goods Weeks in foreign markets and support small and medium-sized enterprises so they can introduce their products to the distribution systems of foreign-invested businesses.