Agricultural products sold on e-commerce platforms earn big profit

Lang Son Province has earned a total revenue of over VND500 million (US$22,000) by selling local agricultural products on e-commerce platforms, according to the report dated August 11.

E-commerce platform is an effective channel to consume agricultural products in the context of the pandemic.

According to Nguyen Khac Lich, Director of Lang Son Department of Information & Communications, many households in the province have expanded their business on the digital platform.

By August 10, the province had created 4,445 stalls, the number of e-wallets / electronic payment accounts reached 2,971, the number of orders was 2,759 orders, the number of the types of products was 3,500 types of products, which had brought a total revenue of VND518,966,000 ($22,750).

Lang Son is one of the first provinces to implement Decision No. 1034/QD-BTTTT of the Ministry of Information and Communications on supporting the placing of local agricultural products on Voso and Postmart e-commerce platforms, promoting the digital economy of agriculture and rural areas.

Besides Lang Son, many other localities have also obtained positive results when implementing Decision 1034. Hung Yen Province has put more than 200 agricultural products on the e-commerce platform, including 55 ‘One Commune One Product’ (OCOP) ones.

According to the Ministry of Information and Communications, promoting the consumption of agricultural products via e-commerce platforms is an important solution to promote rural economic development, helping farmers’ households, businesses, and cooperatives introduce their products while expanding the markets.

Previously, more than 9,000 tons of Bac Giang lychee were consumed, with nearly 1 million orders, and sold through 6 e-commerce platforms in June and July 2021.

In the context of the complicated development of the COVID-19 epidemic in many provinces and cities, especially the southern region, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Information and Communications, and the Ministry of Industry and Trade have proactively connected with e-commerce platforms to deploy the programme of ordering agricultural products, essential goods and fresh food, facilitating online shopping.

Besides the advantages, the implementation of agricultural product consumption through e-commerce platforms still faces some barriers.

Nguyen Khac Lich, Director of Lang Son Department of Information and Communications proposed the development of digital stores and electronic payment accounts while paying attention to establish the brand name for each household to ensure the rights of the farmers.

The Hung Yen Department of Information and Communications representative suggested arranging on-site support forces to guide farmers in skills such as registering an account or putting products on the online trading floor.

The province also emphasized focusing on OCOP products or regional specialties and agreed on plans for packaging and circulation of goods, the first of which is Hung Yen longan in the immediate future.

A representative of Dak Lak Department of Information and Communications is concerned about the percentage of people using smartphones in the province. As the province is located in a remote area, online payment within the province is likely to encounter difficulties.