Measures needed to remove barriers in trans-border e-commerce

Illustrative image (Source: congthuong.vn)

Hanoi (VNA) – Removing barriers hinderingtrans-border e-commerce activities is a current concern of many ministries,sectors and businesses, in the context that despite their advantages in export, Vietnamese firmsengaging in the activities have still faced many difficulties.

Trans-border e-commerce has made great contributions toVietnam’s export revenue, with a value of over 80 trillion VND (3.28 billionUSD) in 2022.

According to Amazon, in 12 months until August 31, Vietnamesefirms had sold 17 million product units to customers around the world throughthis platform. Notably, the number of Vietnamese partners of Amazon rose 40%,while their export value increased 50%.

Meanwhile, the e-commerce platform Alibaba.com reported thatin the first nine months of 2023, trans-border e-commerce trade value thatVietnamese small and medium-sized enterprises expanded 47% year on year.

Hoang Thi Thanh Tam, Director of Indochina CreativeInvestment and Development JSC which has sold its products via Alibaba.com since September 2015, said that e-commerce has enabled the firm to reach customers aroundthe world in a fast manner.

Marketing Director of Alibaba.com Vietnam Nguyen Thi PhuongUyen said that many Vietnamese enterprises have yet to take advantages of this effectiveexport channel due to barriers in language, a lack of marketing skills and those to use marketing tools in e-commerce platforms as well as understanding ondigital trade regulations. In addition, logistics is also one of thedifficulties for Vietnamese exporters, she said.

Tam said that in reality, businesses also countereddifficulties related to payment and information safety, as well as regulationsin green, sustainable and low-carbon production.

Goods loading at the smart warehouse of Delta International Co., Ltd in Hanoi (Photo: hanoimoi.vn)

Vietnamese e-commerce market has been rated among the top threein the Southeast Asian region with an online export revenue predicted to reach nearly300 trillion in 2027. Experts held that removing current barriers to promotethe country’s advantages in the field is an urgent mater for Vietnam.

Vice Director of the Information Technology Application andDigital Transformation Centre under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT)’sTrade Promotion Agency Nguyen Thanh Duong said that the MoIT has organisedvarious activities to support domestic firms, especially small- and medium-sizedenterprises to connect with e-commerce platforms such as Alibaba.com, TikTok,Amazon.com, Lazada, Tiki, Foodmap, Postmart, Voso, Shopee, and Sendo.

Particularly, the Vietnam Pavilion is scheduled to belaunched in Alibaba.com in December with the participation of more than 100businesses, he said.

Uyen said Alibaba.com will continue to coordinate withVietnamese ministries and sectors to promote trade in more than 200 countries.Meanwhile, Amazon Global Selling Vietnam has also pledged to help strengthenthe connectivity between sellers and manufacturers in many sectors to expandthe Vietnamese product portfolio, while increasing training for Vietnamese sellersand supporting them in building and developing global trademarks.

In the coming time, the MoIT and e-commerce platforms will developand perfect the digital trade promotion ecosystem, diversify coordination withdomestic and foreign e-commerce platforms, and continue to cooperate intraining and improve online export capacity for domestic businesses.

At the same time, trade experts advised businesses toactively apply digital technologies, enhance their export capacity andtrans-border selling skills, while developing their products and building theirown trademarks to win customers’ confidence, thus promoting trans-bordere-commerce activities in a sustainable manner./.

VNA