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Opening up opportunities for mountainous agricultural products to reach large markets. Photo: VNA

Gradual market penetration

At the seminar on "Developing the market for products from ethnic minorities and mountainous regions" held on September 20, Le Viet Nga, Deputy Head of the Domestic Market Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), stated that there have been significant steps taken in recent years in commercializing and introducing products from ethnic minorities and mountainous regions to both domestic and export markets.

For example, activities promoting trade, connecting supply and demand, and creating brochures to introduce specialty products from ethnic minority areas have been organized.

Additionally, a noteworthy activity is the establishment of two-way sales points, supplying essential goods to ethnic minority communities and purchasing commercialized products from these regions for distribution to densely populated areas such as Hanoi and HCM City.

As a mountainous province in the Northeast of the country, Lang Son has implemented various solutions to promote production and develop markets for products from ethnic minorities. According to Nguyen Trong Nghia, Deputy Director of the Lang Son Department of Industry and Trade, Lang Son currently has 19 key agricultural products, including unique products like Bac Son oranges, Bao Lam persimmons, Vanh Khuyen persimmons, Chi Lang longans, cardamom, and black jelly.

In addition to State policies, Lang Son has also issued specific policies and mechanisms, plans, and planning to implement these policies. For example, action plans for the development of the value chain of cardamom, development planning for raw material areas related to export processing, and strategies for developing the value chain of the province's key agricultural products. Currently, Lang Son has certified more than 94 products with OCOP ratings of three to four stars.

Nghia mentioned that the annual Vietnam-China international trade fairs jointly organized by the Lang Son Department of Industry and Trade and Bang Tuong (China) have provided opportunities for businesses to exhibit, promote, introduce, and connect their products domestically and in the Chinese market.

Sharing the story of accompanying a potential product of ethnic minorities in the mountainous region, Dao Duc Hieu, Director of the Suoi Giang Tourism Ecosystem Cooperative, stated that Vietnam has been positioned on the world tea map. In the ancient tea tree regions, Suoi Giang was chosen because it is considered the cradle of ancient tea trees in the world. This means that Vietnamese tea has the opportunity to be recognized worldwide.

Hieu shared that a poor area at such a high mountain peak has achieved a four-star OCOP rating and is on the path to reaching five stars. They have obtained the ECOCERT certification, the ORGANIC standard of Europe, which means they have a passport to export to 26 countries around the world, with geographical indications, cultivation area codes, and ISO standards in production.

"Vietnam ranks fifth in the world in tea exports, with over 200,000 tons per year, but the price of Vietnamese tea is very low compared to the world. Therefore, we need a national tea strategy to give Vietnamese tea a new position, not just as tea in cardboard boxes or nylon bags, not packaged in tons, but rather packaged in taste," said Hieu.

Regarding the current market, Nga believed that both domestic and international markets were seeking products with unique cultural characteristics. Ethnic minorities have their distinct characteristics, which are like uncut gems that are being polished to introduce to consumers.

Breakthrough policies needed to attract large enterprises

However, Nga also highlighted the challenges in developing the market for products from ethnic minorities and mountainous regions. Many ethnic groups are not proficient in commercializing their specialties.

Therefore, according to Nga, more comprehensive solutions are needed, along with breakthrough policies to attract businesses to support farmers and producers in ethnic minority regions. Nga cited examples from the experimental phase in some localities such as Son La, Lang Son, and Lam Dong, which have been very successful in attracting large enterprises to invest in production, processing, procurement, and export, or to introduce products from ethnic minorities to the domestic market.

Furthermore, support models for ethnic minority communities selling in modern distribution channels such as Saigon Co.op or BigC have only made occasional contributions to the community rather than becoming regular, monthly, or yearly activities to provide ethnic minorities with their own space to showcase their culture and, at the same time, introduce these highly valuable products from our ethnic minority brethren to consumers.