Nguyen Kieu Oanh, Deputy Director of Hanoi's Department of Industry and Trade, told  Cong Thuong (Industry and Trade) newspaper about the effectiveness of trade promotion in driving export activities in the city.

Nguyen Kieu Oanh, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade. Photo: vovgiaothong.vn

Hanoi has seen positive results from its trade promotion efforts. These initiatives have not only helped to unblock domestic sales channels, but have also yielded significant results in export activities. Could you tell us more about this?

Over the past period, Hanoi has implemented wide-ranging trade promotion initiatives that have linked the capital with cities and provinces across the country. These programs have supported businesses in Hanoi and other provinces and cities to promote their products, increase competitiveness, forge partnerships, and expand both domestic and export consumer markets.

It's worth mentioning the annual Vietnam Regional Specialty Fair, with the participation of nearly 60 provinces and cities, and Hanoi's One Commune One Product (OCOP) program, which has helped develop the rural economy, with OCOP products gradually gaining a foothold in the domestic and export markets. The city's products have made it to the shelves of major distribution systems abroad, such as AEON (Japan), Lotte (South Korea), Big C and Go! Market (Thailand).

Hanoi currently has 2,711 OCOP products, of which six are rated five stars, 12 have potential five-star classification, 1,473 have four-star rating and 1,220 have three-star rating. 

Specifically, in 2023, the city evaluated and ranked 544 OCOP products, exceeding the city's plan by 136% (400 products).

The 2023 OCOP products are rated as diverse in type, including 280 processed food products (51.5%), 16 raw and semi-processed food products (2.9%), 61 fresh food products (11.2%), and 16 beverage products (2.9%).

The export turnover of goods from Hanoi in the first five months of the year has shown positive growth, with agricultural products being the highlight. What is your view on this issue?

Local consumers make their purchases at the OCOP showroom in the My Duc district. Photo: Hoai Nam/ The Hanoi Times

Hanoi has recently implemented a comprehensive recovery strategy that has helped the city regain growth momentum and achieve remarkable results. A vital part of this strategy has been a focused effort to strengthen Hanoi's export performance.

The strategy also includes mobilizing resources, stimulating production and business, strengthening business support and removing barriers, as well as promoting trade and expanding market access.

In the first five months of 2024, Hanoi's export turnover of goods is estimated to reach US$7.1 billion, up 7.7% compared to the same period last year. 

The domestic sector continues to play a driving role in the city's growth, with an export turnover of $4.2 billion, accounting for 58.6% and maintaining double-digit growth of 10.7%.

Seven of the 11 major export commodity groups recorded gains compared to the same period in 2023, including agriculture, computer and electronics, ceramics, petroleum, machinery, transportation equipment, and wood products. During this period, agricultural products remained the fastest-growing group among the 11. The group was led by rice, which grew by 50%, followed by coffee at 14%, cashew at 11.5%, pepper at 6.8% and tea at 4.6%.

What are the key challenges and solutions for Hanoi's enterprises to further boost their exports in the coming period?

The global economy is facing heightened risks and challenges. Recession concerns, high inflation, and persistently high interest rates are severely dampening consumer demand in key markets such as Europe and the Americas - Hanoi's most important trading partners.

Vietnam's export market share is under pressure as global supply chains move closer to end consumers to minimize the risk of disruption. This increases competition in Vietnam's key export markets and directly impacts its market position.

To support enterprises' international market penetration, we will promote production and raw material supply centers for manufacturing and export, and accelerate the development of industrial zones to attract foreign direct investment and domestic investment in key export sectors.

The department will organize conferences and meetings for enterprises to gather information, understand their problems, and find ways to solve their difficulties. We strongly support the increase of production and export, and submit recommendations to higher authorities to address the feedback of enterprises.

We will continue to improve the effectiveness of trade and investment promotion programs in line with current circumstances. This includes strengthening coordination with central agencies, Vietnamese missions abroad, foreign trade offices in Vietnam, and provinces and cities.

At the same time, the department will effectively implement the project "Mobilizing overseas Vietnamese to consume Vietnamese products and develop distribution channels for Vietnamese goods abroad in 2020-2024" and the project "Promoting Vietnamese enterprises to sell directly to foreign distribution networks by 2030", focusing on strengthening matchmaking support for domestic and foreign enterprises.

We will focus on developing and managing e-commerce to leverage the rapid digitalization of the economy and help enterprises access distribution channels.

In addition, the department will enhance the competitiveness of enterprises and producers by organizing training programs for enterprises inside and outside industrial parks on human resource development, training executives and providing business management knowledge, advising manufacturing and import/export enterprises on improving product design and branding for handicraft villages and key agricultural products; knowledge on international economic integration, trade barriers, new policies and timely market information.

The department will propose to the City People's Council to issue a new resolution regulating the budget expenditures for the City's Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion Program in accordance with current realities and regulations.

Thank you for your time!