Hanoi's agricultural sector is focusing on building linkages and branding for key agricultural products, as well as ensuring export standards to bring greater economic value to farmers.

Initial results

The Van Duc Agricultural Service Cooperative in the outskirts district of Gia Lam supplies around 40-50 tons of vegetables to Hanoi every day through a close partnership with distributors and supermarkets over the years.

Director of Van Duc Agricultural Service Cooperative Nguyen Van Minh, said that up to 70% of the production is sold to large supermarkets such as Co.op Mart, Metro, AEON and wholesale markets in the city. Especially, the cooperative has maintained its export volume of 300-500 tons per year of cabbage and cauliflower to Taiwan (China) and South Korea.

Dong Phu Organic Farming Cooperative in Chuong My District plants rice on a total area of 66ha, of which 24ha of rice area met US organic standards and the remaining 42ha are certified as meeting Vietnamese organic standards. Dong Phu Organic Farming Cooperative Director Trinh Thi Nguyet said that exporting rice to Germany and other countries guarantees a stable income for the business.

Farmers harvest organic rice in the paddy field of Dong Phu Commune in Chuong My District. Photo: Ngoc Anh

Regarding the city’s key agricultural product exports over the past time, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Ngoc Son said that, in the first seven months of 2022, the city’s exports of agricultural, forestry, and fishery products hit US$102 million, up 61% over the same period, including wood and wooden items reaching $79 million. 

Some key agricultural products from Hanoi have contributed to the city's income growth, including late-ripening longan from Dai Thanh Commune in Quoc Oai District exported to the US, vegetables from Van Duc Cooperative shipped to South Korea and cavendish banana sold to China.

So far, the city is home to 1,649 products under the One Commune One Product Program (OCOP), including 20 potential five-star products, 1,098 four-star, and 534 three-star items. Among them, there are 1,071 food products, 35 beverages, 17 herbal items, 492 handicrafts, and 34 fabric and apparel products. This is one of the great potentials for export, Ngoc Son emphasized.

Developing potential products

Although Hanoi's agricultural export potential is huge, it has been hampered by the poor awareness of intellectual property protection among agricultural manufacturers and traders. 

In some localities, the planning of production areas is still weak leading to small-scale and fragmented farming. Only a few production areas met VietGAP, GlobalGAP and organic standards. The number of products stamped with traceability codes is still low. Most agricultural products are sold in wet markets and traditional distribution channels.

In order to promote the export of agricultural products, General Director of Bao Minh Farm Processing Company Bui Thi Hanh Hieu said the company has partnered with farmers in provinces and cities to build large-scale and concentrated rice production areas. It is in the process of building rice and post-harvest farm processing plant with international standards in Thanh Oai District with a view to exporting rice.

Bao Minh Business Agricultural Products Processing JSC is building a new processing factory in Thanh Oai District.

Head of the Hanoi Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Sub-Department Nguyen Thi Thu Hang said that to help local businesses better understand the market and meet food safety requirements when exporting, in the coming time, the agency will coordinate with localities to organize training programs related to regulations on quality assurance, food safety and control of imported and exported food, as well as provisions of free trade agreements covering farm export for farmers.

It will support farm processing facilities in the application of international quality certification systems (ISO, HACCP, Halal) to improve the competitiveness of exports and consumption in the domestic market.

Director of the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Chu Phu My said the city continues to promote products with export potential such as Japonica rice (planted on an area of ​​7,000ha), bananas (3,200ha), safe vegetables (5,000ha), organic vegetables (50ha) and a number of processed products.

The city agricultural sector is building basic standards for processed agricultural, forestry and fishery products in an attempt to improve quality and food safety, he added.

The department will enhance the development of a model of linkage in production and processing associated with the consumer market, as well as intellectual protection to improve competitiveness, creating high added value and ensuring quality and food safety, in line with market and export demand.