Applying modern technology and complying with international standards will be the "key" for Vietnamese agricultural products to penetrate deeper into demanding markets.

Enterprises are facing difficulties in transportation costs, logistics, and preservation technology during the production process.

Barriers and obstacles

Agricultural products are currently an important export product of Vietnam with a value of more than 62 billion USD in 2024. Vietnam has a lot of potential and advantages to invest in agricultural production and processing and agricultural sectors, as well as bring products to the world market; however, in that process, there are still many difficulties.

According to experts, in order to overcome difficulties, develop production, business, and build product brands, enterprises need to overcome barriers from external factors to issues of human resource management, financial capacity, production management, business, etc.

According to Ms. Vu Kim Hanh, Chairwoman of the Association of High-Quality Vietnamese Goods Enterprises, enterprises are facing difficulties in transportation costs, logistics, and preservation technology during the production process. This affects the production and export of enterprises.

In addition, small and medium enterprises in Vietnam also lack standard certifications for export, lack of human resource management, finance, marketing and sales skills. At the same time, many enterprises are weak in building business strategies and plans, and do not understand market trends. Therefore, Vietnamese enterprises often encounter difficulties in choosing export markets.

Deputy Director of the Department of Quality, Processing and Market Development (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) Le Thanh Hoa commented that Vietnam's agriculture is mostly small-scale, fragmented production households, high production costs, poor processing and preservation, especially post-harvest handling. There is a lack of standards and technical regulations, product quality assessment is mainly based on experience, and there is a lack of assessment equipment and machinery. Major import markets such as China, the United States, South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, etc. all have strict requirements in assessing market opening risks. In addition, these markets are very strict in checking pesticide residues. Many ASEAN countries have similar fruit varieties with Vietnam, so they face competition in many export markets as well as domestic markets.

Promoting specific strengths

In terms of agricultural products in general, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Tran Thanh Nam said that in 2024, despite facing many challenges, agricultural exports will still exceed 62 billion USD. The industry is strongly transforming to an agricultural economic model, applying high technology to increase value and develop sustainably.

Similarly, in Dong Nai, in 2024, the province's agricultural export turnover nearly reached 2 billion USD. This year, agricultural exports could exceed 3 billion USD if growers connect well with businesses to export fresh and processed agricultural products, as well as take advantage of market opportunities.

Enterprises need to build and develop brands for fruits and vegetables in particular, and agricultural products in general.

Ms. Vu Kim Hanh recommends that enterprises need to take advantage of local resources along with applying technology towards sustainable development. It is necessary to pay attention to promoting the specific strengths of the locality but must understand the world market, through updating market trends because they change every day. Enterprises should also pay attention to applying AI (artificial intelligence) and multi-channel sales. Multi-channel sales enterprises can meet the diverse needs of many different customers and not miss out on potential partners.

Meanwhile, General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association Dang Phuc Nguyen noted that enterprises should focus on investing in production, processing and preservation to improve product quality. Applying modern technology and complying with international standards will be the "key" for Vietnamese agricultural products to penetrate deeper into demanding markets such as Europe, the US and Japan.

Mr. Le Thanh Hoa (Deputy Director of the Department of Quality, Processing and Market Development, Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) noted that enterprises should take advantage of markets that Vietnam has signed free trade agreements with to enjoy tariff incentives, increasing the competitiveness of Vietnamese agricultural products. At the same time, enterprises should also open new markets with great potential such as the Halal food market of Muslim countries, the Middle East, Africa... to diversify products and markets, contributing to gradually reducing informal exports. Enterprises need to build and develop brands for fruits and vegetables in particular and agricultural products in general, associated with high-quality Vietnamese products, with geographical indications and increasing the value of the products.

Apply for Electronic Phytosanitary Certificate

According to experts, the application of new solutions in the world on plant quarantine, for example e-Phyto - also known as Electronic Phyto Certification, will create a great driving force to help our country increase export turnover further.

In early March, the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection in collaboration with the Association of Agricultural Research Organizations in Asia - Pacific, the Asia - Pacific Seed Association and the CropLife Association organized the International Workshop "Enhancing capacity on IPPC e-Phyto solution to promote seed trade in the Asia - Pacific region". This is the first workshop on e-Phyto - Electronic Phyto Certification, held in our country.

The e-Photy system is a solution of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) to modernize the plant quarantine certification process, improve the efficiency of plant quarantine, and facilitate trade promotion.

The e-Phyto system allows countries to exchange phytosanitary certificates quickly, securely and transparently through the e-Phyto Hub platform. Accordingly, countries will be able to connect their electronic phytosanitary certificate systems to a single hub, with a standard format. At this hub, they can exchange certificates with other countries quickly, accurately and at low cost. This helps save costs for exporters and reduces the number of shipments held at customs checkpoints. Plant protection organizations of countries not only exchange phytosanitary certificates with each other before the shipment arrives, but can also edit or supplement information if necessary to ensure that the shipment is allowed to enter the country without customs clearance delays.

In addition, applying e-Phyto also helps avoid common problems with paper certificates such as errors/forgery/loss; At the same time, reduce human resources to handle administrative procedures using paper and reduce resources (from using and storing paper certificates).

At the workshop, Mr. Haddon Bell, Head of the Agricultural Export Department under the Australian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, emphasized: “E-Phyto is a necessary solution for countries to maintain the growth of the agricultural sector, while enhancing the security of Phytosanitary Certificates and protecting global agriculture from pests”. The benefits of e-Phyto are enormous, not only helping authorities increase the effectiveness of risk management, but also creating conditions for seed and agricultural product shipments to more easily access international markets.

The application of e-Phyto is increasingly encouraged and widely applied globally due to its benefits as well as being in line with the trend of digitalization, streamlining processes, paperwork and administrative procedures globally. Currently, there are more than 191 countries registered in the e-Phyto system; Of these, 138 countries use the Hub and 53 countries use the national e-Phyto systems (GeNS Systems). Countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Senegal, Morocco and the United States have started operating the system to transmit phytosanitary certificates from one national plant protection agency to another.

Promoting system transformation in plant quarantine management is an irreversible trend

Mr. Le Van Thiet, Deputy Director of the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection, said that the application of information technology in state management in general and plant quarantine in particular is an inevitable and irreversible trend. This is also the policy that the Government and the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment are focusing on promoting through promoting system transformation in plant quarantine management and facilitating international trade in agricultural products.

The implementation of new innovations in the world on plant quarantine measures such as e-Phyto will create a great driving force to help Vietnam increase its export turnover further in the coming time.

According to Dr. Ravi Khetarpal, Executive Director of the Asia-Pacific Agricultural Research Organization, promoting digitalization in plant quarantine work brings many benefits to Vietnamese agriculture. “Vietnam is one of the countries that has maintained positive growth in agricultural exports in recent years. The implementation of new innovations in the world on plant quarantine measures such as e-Phyto will create a great driving force to help Vietnam increase its export turnover further in the coming time,” said Dr. Ravi Khetarpal.

Proposing a number of key solutions to promote the implementation of e-Phyto in the Asian region, Ms. Thelma Soriano, Director of Seeds from CropLife Asia, said that, first of all, countries need to focus on upgrading technical infrastructure, ensuring stable internet connection, building secure databases and integrating the system with the global e-Phyto network. It is also necessary to enhance digital capacity for stakeholders, strengthen international cooperation to share experiences, standardize processes, and ensure compatibility of the e-Phyto system with global trading platforms.

In addition, according to the Director of Seeds from CropLife Asia, countries need to implement strict cybersecurity protocols to protect data, and implement a step-by-step transition roadmap to integrate the new system with existing trading platforms. In addition, governments need to update the legal framework to recognize the legal value of e-Phyto, facilitating international agricultural trade.

To reduce the cost burden and optimize resources, Ms. Thelma Soriano said that management units can take advantage of funding from international organizations and cooperate with the private sector to accelerate the application of e-Phyto more effectively./.

Source: Kinh Te Nong Thon Newspaper