The northern province of Bac Giang is building trademarks for local farm produce with an aim of reaching more markets. (Photo: VNA) Bac Giang (VNA) - The northern province of Bac Giang is building trademarks for local farm produce with an aim of reaching more markets, toward raising the value of agro-forestry produce export by an average 8% a year to reach about 200 million USD by 2030, reported the provincial People’s Committee.
The province is also intensifying activities to promote its key and typical agricultural products along with their potential, particularly via e-commerce sites while encouraging businesses, cooperatives and people to sell products online. Support is given to them in terms of building geographical indications, trademarks and origin tracing.
The locality has tried to improve the capacity of collecting and analysing market data in order to help with the building of plans for production, trade promotion and product sales. Farmers will receive assistance to connect with processing firms and distribution networks to gradually form a network of close-ended chain from production to consumption.
Bac Giang will pay attention to building distribution channels and assisting the sale of agricultural products on electronic commercial websites. It will also review the planning of points-of-sale of specialty and signature products, wholesale markets for agricultural products in several localities in the province.
The province will promote the export of local signature products such as lychee, orange, pomelo, processed vegetables, pork, chicken and processed wood to China via official channels while exploring new markets such as the European Union (EU), US, Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea (RoK), ASEAN and the Middle East.
The province now has eight key agricultural products namely Thieu lychee, chicken, pork, citrus fruit, high-quality rice, vegetable, peanuts and fish, 14 typical products and 30 products of good potential. Among them, 40 products have had their trademarks protected. Some have earned geographical indication protection abroad like Luc Ngan lychee is protected in Japan, the Republic of Korea, Thailand, the US, Australia and Singapore, Chu and Ke dry rice noodle ares protected in Japan, the RoK, Thailand, and Yen The range chicken in Singapore, China and Laos.
Bac Giang also has 60 products with trademarks and 155 One Commune One Product products meeting three-star standards and above.
Since 2019, Bac Giang has promoted farm produce trade in various forms like holding seminars, conferences and festivals, introduction on websites of the province's agencies and localities, and participating in trade fairs.
Each year, the provincial People's Committee issues a plan on promoting the sale of key agricultural products especially Thieu lychee, and works closely with centrally-run ministries and agencies in the effort.
Bac Giang is working to raise the value of agro-forestry produce export by an average 8% a year to reach about 200 million USD by 2030. (Photo: VNA) Since obtaining a certificate of geographical indication (GI) from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan in March 2021, Thieu lychee grown in Luc Ngan district has seen its competitiveness and export volume significantly rising.
The fruit is the first Vietnamese farm produce to be granted such certificate by Japan, with related negotiations lasting for nearly three years. In addition to Japan, Thieu lychee has already earned geographical protection in six others, namely China, Laos, Cambodia, the RoK, Singapore, and Australia. The protection is like a ‘passport’ to help speed up customs clearance processes, raise prices, and improve the value of the farm produce.
Official data showed that 48.5 tonnes of the Luc Ngan lychee were shipped to Japan, and 293.5 tonnes to other markets (excluding China) in 2020. The figures rose to 56.7 and 9,500 tonnes in 2021. This year, Bac Giang exported 164.4 tonnes of the fruit to Japan, 36 tonnes to the US, and more than 1,800 tonnes to other markets.
The province also focuses on expanding the cultivation area of farm produce meeting VietGAP, GlobalGAP and organic standards to yield quality products with high productivity for domestic consumption and export.
The authorities have provided support to the building of trademarks and marketing of hi-tech farm produce to meet the demand of both the domestic and foreign markets, including those with strict requirements such as the US, Australia, Japan, the RoK and the EU. As a result, several products have gained a strong foothold like lychee, processed vegetables, Hoang Luong water dropwort, Yen The tea, hill chicken and clean pork.
Apart from export markets, Bac Giang has called on major domestic and foreign groups, supermarket chains and shopping outlets like Aeon, Central Group, Mega Market, Lotte, Big C, Saigon Coop, Vinmart and Hapro and several farm produce exporters in and outside the province such as Origon, Vifoco, GOC and Global companies to engage in partnerships in production and processing, of sign contracts for product sales and exports./.
