Cross-border e-commerce expected to present broader foreign market access

Hai Duong’s flagship Thanh Ha lychees are now available on Lazada and Sendo. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) - With borders closed and travel restricted since early last year, e-commerce has proved itself to be a game changer, setting the scene for Vietnamese exporters to gain broader access to foreign markets.

Given that Hai Duong’s flagship Thanh Ha lychees are being officially sold on Lazada and Sendo, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) is closely coordinating with the provincial People’s Committee and other local agencies to connect lychee growers with around 200 importers from various major markets overseas via virtual platforms, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai said.

Cross-border e-commerce not only helps traders boost sales but also helps identify a more flexible, cost-efficient business model to access global supply chains, said Dang Hoang Hai, Director General of the MoIT’s e-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency (iDEA).

An iDEA survey of more than 800 exporters, 70 percent of which are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), showed that 36 percent of respondent SMEs and 54 percent of large corporations have a website and trade on online marketplaces.

Director of the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade Tran Phuong Lan said the capital plans to organise an exclusive event on trading on Amazon for local handicraft products and craft villages shortly, as part of efforts to stimulate cross-border e-commerce.

The department will also hold a number of seminars and training courses for local SMEs on how to register and sell products on online marketplaces, she revealed.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Hai said his ministry will continue developing policies to smooth the way for e-commerce and support domestic firms to participate in new supply chains.

It plans to focus more on linking employers and potential job candidates in e-commerce and on providing enterprises with consultation on a proper roadmap for digital transformation, he noted, in a bid to sustainably foster the development of e-commerce./.