Hanoi is extending support to local businesses and cooperatives in putting agricultural products on the e-commerce platforms, as well as boosting trade promotion activities, according to the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

A staff is guiding a Bac Giang's farmer to post lychees on the e-commerce site. Photo: Vietnam Post

In Chuong My District, the Thang Long High-tech Agriculture JSC faced difficulties with selling Solanaceae, so it turns to new sales channels such as Facebook and Zalo for better consumption. Phan Trung Kien, Director of the Thang Long High-tech Agriculture JSC said: “Since the company put its products on online sales sites and e-commerce platforms, they are better known and easily approached by a huge number of local consumers.”

The company grows solanum Hainanese hance in an area of 20ha, the largest in the country, in Hanoi and the northern provinces of Hoa Binh and Lang Son. Annual revenue doubled or tripled compared to the traditional sales channel.

In Dong Anh District, the Red River Agricultural Service Cooperative’s products are present in many provinces and cities across the country and exported to a number of countries, thanks to boosting trade promotion activities on digital platforms, according to Director of the Red River Agricultural Service Cooperative Le Van Tam.

Head of Economic office of Chuong My District Tran Thi Thu Hang recognized that digital technology solutions in production and trade promotion are an indispensable requirement of modern agriculture. 

“The district has issued a plan to put its typical agricultural products on the e-commerce floors as well as promoting the development of the digital economy in the fields of agriculture and rural areas in the locality,” she underlined.

In this sense, Nguyen Van Chi, Director of the Hanoi Rural Development Subdepartment, said that in recent times, the sector has supported companies and cooperatives in the sale of agricultural products taking advantage of electronic commerce floors, thus creating a channel of new, modern and sustainable distribution, forming an open business space, properly positioning the value of the brand and selling the products at better prices.

He added the e-commerce platform not only reduces the retail price of farm produce but also provides farming households with useful information on seasonal weather, markets, demand forecast and production capacity.

Promoting consumption links

Thanh Ha lychees are sold on the e-commerce site Voso.vn.

Although the e-commerce floor brings many benefits, the number of agricultural products sold through this channel is still modest. Many organizations and individuals have not promoted their products in an eye-catching way and lack flexibility when it comes to changing retail prices.

The city’s agriculture sector continues to deploy solutions to put agricultural products on Postmart.vn, an e-commerce platform owned by the Vietnam Post Corporation, and Voso.vn developed by Viettel Post Joint Stock Corporation (Vietnam Post). 

Director of Van Duc Agricultural Cooperative (Gia Lam District) Nguyen Van Minh said that related agencies have supported the cooperatives in applying information technology to promote the products and sell them through modern channels.

According to Bui Van Hoang, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Post, a subsidiary of Vietnam Post, in the coming time, they will coordinate with related parties to introduce farm produce on the e-commerce floor Postmart.vn; promote the consumption of agricultural products through Postmart.vn and Agri-postmart.vn, and the retail system, building data on safe and high-quality agricultural products.

Regarding trade promotion innovation, Chu Phu My, Director of the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said that they are focusing on developing e-commerce, promoting digital transformation and coordinating with relevant authorities to organize training programs for farmers as well as help them create accounts and booths on e-commerce sites.

The Department also supports the testing and certification of the quality of agricultural products for sale on the e-commerce platform, and carries out inspection and supervision of food safety. They will soon build parameters on the planting area, the production process and the participating units.