Food producers urged to add value

Enterprises in the food industry should focus more on improving production technologies to create products with added value, delegates said at a conference in Ho Chi Minh City on November 26.
Enterprises in the food industry should focus more on improvingproduction technologies to create products with added value, delegatessaid at a conference in Ho Chi Minh City on November 26.

TaHoang Linh, Deputy General Director of the Vietnam Trade PromotionAgency, said Vietnam's varied geographic and climatic conditions enabledit to grow a diverse range of agricultural crops.

The productsnot only meet domestic demand but also exports, Linh said, adding thatVietnam is the world's largest exporter of many farm produce such ascashew nuts, coffee, rice, tea and seafood.

However, export revenue remains low since most products were exported as raw materials with very little processing.

DamNgoc Nam, Deputy Head of the Department of Processing and Trade forAgro-forestry-Fisheries Products and Salt Production, agreed, sayingthat the deep processing rate in the cashew sector (salted cashews,fried and spicy cashews, mixed nuts, cashew confectionery), forinstance, is modest, with only 6 percent.

The ratio is about 10 percent for fruits and coffee sectors, he said.

Althoughenterprises involved in agricultural, forestry and fisheries productionhave invested significantly in modern technologies and equipments, alarge number of firms have not invested in equipment to enhance productvalue, mostly because of financial difficulties, he said.

Ly KimChi, Chairwoman of Food and Foodstuff Association of HCM City, saidlocal firms should invest more in upgrading production machinery,strengthen market research, and diversify products to fit the tastes andhabits of each market and customers.

Building brands, enhancingtrade promotion, and expanding distribution systems to increase salesboth at home and abroad are also very important, she said.

ReindertDekker, an expert at the Netherlands' Centre for the Promotion ofImports from Developing Countries (CBI), said producers shoulddifferentiate products through packaging and ingredients, and diversifytheir products to meet different groups of customers as well as buildbrands for their goods.

Convenient packaging has become a growingtrend as consumers' daily schedules have become busier, he said, addingthat the global demand for natural ingredients would remain strong andnot just in traditional markets. Producers need to pay attention tothat, he said.

In addition, development of support industries tocater to the development of the processing industry is needed to improvepromotions, Nam said.

Demand for clean foodstuff and deeply processed products is increasing both at home and abroad, Chi said.

With the world population expected to reach 8.2 billion in 2030, it will be a major challenge to meet food and foodstuff needs.

Theinternational conference on Vietnam's food industry was organised bythe Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in collaboration withthe Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency and the Netherlands' CBI.-VNA

See more

Visitors at the exhibition (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam Expo 2025 opens, spotlighting digital transformation, innovation

This year’s edition, themed “Step together in a digitised world,” has attracted around 400 businesses from 18 countries and territories, with over 500 booths. Alongside traditional networking, it introduces online business-to-business (B2B) matching, enabling year-round connections.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks at the second meeting of the National Steering Committee for building the private economic sector development project (Photo: VNA)

Private sector encouraged to join major national programmes, projects

It must fully unleash the productive capacity and resources of the country through the private sector; mobilise all private resources for national development; harness the effectiveness of internal forces, including human, natural resources, history, and culture, while effectively combining them with external resources such as capital, technology, human resources, and management experience, he said.

At the annual Vietnam-Cambodia business dialogue in Phnom Penh on April 4 (Photo: VNA)

Annual Vietnam-Cambodia business dialogue held in Cambodia

The annual business dialogue in Cambodia attracted around 150 delegates, including Vietnamese businesses and Vietnamese-origin companies operating in Cambodia across various sectors such as finance, banking, insurance, telecommunications, agriculture, construction, interior design, food services, transportation, logistics, trade, healthcare, and tourism.

Rice is one of Vietnam's exports to Cuba. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam-Cuba Business Forum held in Hanoi

Addressing the event, Cuban Ambassador Rogelio Polanco Fuentes affirmed that Cuba will always stand alongside the Vietnamese Government and business community in their efforts to achieve the challenging target socio-economic goals.

The private sector is expected to make breakthroughs for national development. (Photo: VNA)

Party official anticipates breakthroughs in private economic sector

With the Politburo set to issue a dedicated resolution on the private economic sector, there should be a reformed approach to action plans, according to Secretary of the Party Central Committee and head of Head of its Commission for Policies and Strategies Tran Luu Quang.

NCSoft and VNGGames sign a cooperation agreement to develop products in Southeast Asia. (Photo: VNG)

More RoK’s game developers target Vietnam

Over half of Vietnam's nearly 100 million population being gamers and the country's competitive labour costs are among reasons for Korean gaming firms' expanding presence in Vietnam.

Representatives from the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK, LHR leaders, airline partners, and passengers at the anniversary event (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam Airlines marks 10 years of UK route operations

Vietnam Airlines launched its direct UK route in 2011, initially operating from London Gatwick Airport (LGW) before transitioning to Heathrow in 2015, improving connectivity to one of the UK’s major international hubs./.

President of the Cuban Chamber of Commerce (CCC) Antonio Luis Carricarte Corona. (Photo: VNA)

Cuban commerce official optimistic about bright future of Vietnam-Cuba cooperative ties

President of the Cuban Chamber of Commerce (CCC) Antonio Luis Carricarte Corona hailed Vietnam as Cuba’s second-largest trading partner in Asia and its top investor, spotlighting its foothold in the Mariel Special Development Zone via Viglacera. This zone, he noted, is set to become a pivotal hub for Vietnamese investment in the years ahead.

Imported cars seen at the northern port city of Hai Phong. (Photo: VNA)

Ministry proposes tax cuts for some imported cars

This initiative aims to diversify the supply of imported vehicles, foster competition in the domestic market, and align Vietnam’s tax policies with the evolving trends of the automotive industry.