Ministry adopts measures to boost sale of agricultural products

Hanoi (VNA) – The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) is carrying out a number of measures to assist farmers in selling their products.

According to Tran Thanh Hai, deputy general director of the ministry's Agency of Foreign Trade, farm produce export turnover reached 7.2 billion USD in the first three months of this year, up 19 percent compared to 2011.

Coffee, rice and aquatic products posted high growth of between 38 and 50 percent. However, difficulties remain in the sale of some groups of commodities and at some specific times, he said, citing the export of fruits to China through border crossings as an example.

To deal with the problem, the MoIT has compiled a draft plan on shifting from unofficial and small-scale shipment to export through official channels and submitted it to the Prime Minister for approval, Hai said at a press conference on March 30.

The ministry also established a steering committee led by the Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien to solve the congestion of agricultural products at border gates.

In addition, the MoIT has worked closely with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to promote negotiations with China to increase the number of fruits exported via official channels in the future, he said, adding that the ministry also collaborated with the Ministry of Transport to guide businesses to change delivery methods and take advantage of other forms of transport to avoid congestion at border gates.

Hai said the number of trucks queuing for customs clearance at border gates to enter China has decreased significantly as China's imposition of pandemic control measures limits customs clearance activities, resulting in a sharp decrease in the number of vehicles coming to the gates.

Enterprises have acknowledged the need to change modes of transportation and delivery methods, he said.

The MoIT has coordinated with associations and localities in organising training courses for firms engaged in exporting and importing agricultural products, Hai said, adding that the ministry will publish a manual guiding them to switch to the official export channels and encouraging Vietnamese trade offices abroad to promote market expansion.

Regarding the plan relating to the sale of agricultural products this year, Hoang Minh Chien, deputy general director of the Trade Promotion Agency (TPA) under the MoIT said the agency was authorised to collaborate with relevant agencies and localities to promote connections in selling agricultural products.

The agency was also assigned to draw out an agricultural map of Vietnam which is expected to provide official information and attract new customers, thereby creating linkages between localities, cooperatives and households.

MoIT Deputy Minister Do Thang Hai said that among the effective measures are the application of e-commerce and the signing of a cooperation plan with such e-commerce giant as Amazon Global Selling with 300 million customers in the world. Recently, the TPA has also worked with the Chinese e-commerce platform Alibaba.com to promote the country’s products.

According to Deputy Minister Hai, not only in times of pandemic, online export promotion activities will be a dominant trend in the future. Thus, the MoIT will actively cooperate with other ministries, agencies and localities in deploying digital applications and platforms to support the sale of agricultural products./.