Accelerate agricultural and food exports through digital trade promotion

	Tightening market management on traditional, digital trade
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	Logistics boosts competitiveness for agricultural exports

Visually introduced product images and stories enhance businesses’ access to a large number of customers. Photo: N.H

More and more countries and territories are accelerating the application of information technology and digital transformation in trade promotion activities, including many countries and territories that are geographically close to Vietnam and have similar cultures such as Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand... Leading countries in technology around the world are also pioneers in applying information technology and digital transformation in the field of trade promotion such as Australia, the US, the Netherlands... with many successful and effective models in practice. The content and methods of applying information technology and digital transformation in trade promotion are constantly changing and becoming more and more diverse, not only limited to information technology infrastructure and skills but also evolving. more in terms of methods, towards a complete ecosystem of trade promotion Speaking at a conference on the application of information technology and digital transformation in trade promotion within the framework of the recent Food Expo 2023, Mr. Do Thang Hai, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, said that the Ministry of Industry and Trade has directed the Trade Promotion Department to focus on researching, implementing and adjusting many appropriate trade promotion activities; At the same time, coordinate with domestic and international partners to conduct specific and practical activities to most effectively accompany businesses. According to Mr. Do Thang Hai, hundreds of online trade promotion programs such as online trade conferences, online exhibition fairs, and livestream technology application to promote products via digital platforms... have been implemented. These activities not only bring initial results but also confirm that they are innovative solutions in line with the world's technological development trends. According to Mr. Joseph Wozniak, Director of the Trade Program for Sustainable Development, International Trade Center (ITC), and the application of technology in traceability allows the transparency of the agricultural and food product supply and helps to manage resources accurately, reduce waste and minimize environmental impact. Thereby, the customer trust will be consolidated. According to Mr. Wozniak, there are currently more than 5,000 businesses supported by ITC in collaboration with Alibaba e-commerce platform to improve trade promotion capacity in the digital environment and e-commerce production. This enables businesses to improve their competitiveness in this field in the market during the integration process. Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong Uyen, Marketing Director of Alibaba.com Vietnam Co., Ltd. said that despite the modest online market share, the food and beverage industry still witnessed the impressive growth rate. Particularly, the average growth momentum in the period 2020 - 2025 is 15.8%, showing that the industry has great potential. Since officially entering the market in 2009, Alibaba.com Vietnam has supported thousands of small and medium-sized businesses in Vietnam to export products online in more than 40 industries to more than 200 countries and territories. Not only does it help expand the consumption network, according to Mr. Nguyen Lam Thanh, Policy Director of TikTok Vietnam, technology also makes an important contribution to increasing the market share of industries. As at TikTok, visually introduced product images and stories have helped businesses reach a large customer base. At the same time, direct interaction helps suppliers receive quick feedback from customers and online sales such as livestreams, bring in large revenues. According to Mr. Bui Cao Hoc, Director of CloudGo Technology Co., Ltd., digital platforms provide a huge source of data, enhancing businesses’ ability to reach and classify potential customers to optimize market exploitation efficiency. Statistics show that Vietnam currently has more than 19,000 agricultural cooperatives, over 14,000 agricultural enterprises, about 7,500 agricultural processing facilities and about 9,400 first-class supermarkets and markets... These data constitute Big data of the agricultural industry. Collecting detailed data on the components and activities of these subjects will also bring benefits to domestic and international businesses when entering the agricultural and food market.