Solutions to stable export of agricultural products

Currently, the demand for agricultural products of the world market is very large. Binh Duong has many branded agricultural products such as orange, tangerine, grapefruit, mangosteen... But for these products to have a firm foothold in the world market, authorities and enterprises in the province still have a lot of works to do...

Orange farm of Nguyen Thanh Tam in Hieu Liem commune, North Tan Uyen district.  

Focusing on value chain development from production to consumption

With the policy of developing high-quality agriculture, Binh Duong has many good-quality agricultural products favored by customer, such as pomelos, oranges and tangerines. In the province, there are many specialized agricultural farming areas in North Tan Uyen, Bau Bang and Phu Giao. The shift in high-tech production has contributed to increasing productivity, quality and value of agricultural products to serve the domestic and export demand. Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development keeps supporting localities in building safe agricultural production chains according to VietGAP standards.

In order to solve the problem of agricultural products consumption for farmers, the province organized seminars, investment promotion conferences with the participation of many enterprises and production units. The association between product consuming enterprises and manufacturing enterprises in Bau Bang district recently is a good example. In addition, the industry - trade sector, agricultural sector of the province, and localities have implemented a series of economic stimulus measures to support enterprises in expanding product consumption market.

Recognizing the great export potential of agricultural products in the province, in recent years, many enterprises have invested in agricultural products in the province, and have initially gained certain success. At present, many enterprises directly sign contracts with agricultural producers, expand purchase and export of agricultural products; however, to household producers, the signed contract number is not much. At a conference for knowledge dissemination on Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) recently held in Binh Duong, many business representatives acknowledged weaknesses of agro-products in the country in general and in Binh Duong in particular was the small, seasonal scale of production, so it was very difficult to link and sign sales contracts.

According to enterprises, it is imperative to set up a professional value chain from production to consumption, and build wholesale markets for agricultural products for purchase, collection and transshipment of goods. In addition, in order to facilitate export to foreign countries, authorities and enterprises should set targets on the basis of planning raw material zones gathering potential fruits and vegetables with advantages and qualities for export. At the same time, it is necessary to develop projects and models of producing, harvesting and preserving fruits and products in the export orientation so that the products will be eligible for export to developed markets; continue to build and complete the chain of linking production, supply, processing and marketing of agricultural products in the domestic market and export. In particular, the agricultural sector needs to closely manage the technical process; support production enterprises in quality improvement, ensuring standards of export products...

Potential, but not easy to succeed

Over time, many foreign businesses have invested in retail sector in Binh Duong. Some big names like Aeon, Lotte... The promotion of Binh Duong's agricultural product brand names is also more advantageous than other localities. However, to find the sustainable direction for local agricultural products is not a simple matter. Ho Truc Thanh, Deputy Director of Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that according to the general policy and orientation towards high technology development of the province, the department had supported localities in developing chains of production export, supply and consumption of key agricultural products, and achieved good results. The concern is to take advantage of free trade agreements (FTAs) to boost exports of provincial key agricultural products.

According to Bui Kim Thuy, an official in charge of international economic integration of Ministry of Industry and Trade, due to the demand for development, associations and enterprises are in need of market information, including detailed analysis of main markets, potential markets, and then localities will have a plan to ensure material areas to better meet the demand for consumption and export.

Regarding the issue of exports, heightening added values for agricultural products when FTAs ​​take effect, experts said, Vietnam's agricultural products had developed well in recent years. However, the weakness is that brand name limited, so has affected the reputation and quality of agricultural products in the country. At present, the branding for agricultural products in Vietnam has stopped at an encouraging level, many localities and enterprises have not really seen the role and significance of building and protecting brand name for agricultural products, especially in the current integration period. Enterprises have done this spontaneously, when it comes to brand name for industry or region, it is hard to gain consensus, cooperation. In addition, Vietnamese agricultural products are mostly exported through some foreign importers or some large wholesalers. Therefore, foreign customers only know that it is a product of Vietnam, but do not know the product from which business, from where in Vietnam, which is its bar code… This is a great disadvantage for domestic agricultural sector.

Economic experts said that in order to increase the export value of agricultural products in the trend of integration and FTAs, it is necessary to pay attention to the building of brand names, trademarks, especially for agricultural products. Authorities need to select some excellent products to build up brand name, and ensure that these products must meet the main factors, such as large and stable volume, uniform quality, food safety and hygiene, competitive selling price. Furthermore, it must be synchronized from production to processing and consumption, distribution system development, building brand image through the promotion of agricultural products to create added value for products.