Vietnamese agricultural product stalls on digital platforms in China will help Vietnamese suppliers sell directly to consumers in this market.

The information was released at the Vietnam-China Business Exchange Conference and the Launching Ceremony of Vietnamese agricultural products on Chinese e-commerce and social media platforms organized by the Agricultural Trade Promotion Center in coordination with the Department of Processing Quality and Market Development, Sunwah Group on the afternoon of November 20, in Hanoi. The event is within the framework of the AgroViet 2024 International Agricultural Exhibition organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

What are the conditions for Vietnamese agricultural products to be able to join the booth?

Regarding the Vietnamese agricultural products booth on Chinese e-commerce and social media platforms, Ms. Qi Ping - General Director of Sunwah Gelafood Supply Chain Management Company (Henan Province, China) - said that the booth will be operated according to the "goods looking for people" model through short video and livestream broadcasting, which is expected to help Vietnamese suppliers sell directly to consumers in China and bring branded products to the Chinese market.

Vietnam - China Business Trade Conference

Regarding the criteria for joining the Vietnamese agricultural products booth, according to Ms. Qi Ping, the products participating in the booth must comply with China's cross-border import list and relevant regulations and quality standards in Vietnam, have intellectual property rights and independent trademarks, and wish to register a trademark in China to expand their brand. In addition, the enterprise must have been operating normally for more than three years or be approved by Sunwah Gelafood to participate, have relatively good supply capacity and customer care capacity; agree to export products to China under the cross-border e-commerce model, comply with the rules of the relevant e-commerce platform, share deposits, and comply with China's regulations on general trade; be approved by Sunwah Gelafood.

Regarding the booth entry procedure, for businesses that already have a registration code in China, the steps are as follows: Businesses need to provide relevant certificates for Sunwah Gelafood to review, the booth only accepts products that have relevant Chinese export certificates; trial run the first order; businesses base on the consumption results of the trial order to develop a production plan and export each batch of goods to Sunwah Gelafood's Luoyang bonded warehouse for livestreaming.

Ms. Qi Ping - General Director of Sunwah Gelafood Supply Chain Management Company (Henan Province, China) - information about Vietnamese agricultural products booth

For businesses that do not have a registration code in China, to register to participate in the booth, they need to send a product list to Sunwah Gelafood for checking on the Chinese customs system; complete the procedures for registering business activities according to import standards in China. Sunwah Gelafood will register and collect fees according to the large items for related costs. The next step is for the business to sign a trial contract with Sunwah Gelafood. After the first trial order, the business can decide to join the booth based on the import-export and consumption situation.

Suppliers can choose Sunwah Gelafood's booth as Mr ASEAN Mall or other famous booths in China such as TikTok, Kuaishou, etc.

According to Ms. Qi Ping, the deposit will be different for each type of product. If the supplier registers multiple types of items, the deposit will be calculated according to the product type with the highest deposit. If you register these large booths through Sunwah Gelafood, the deposit will not exceed 20% for regular products, and for bird's nest products and other functional foods, the deposit will not exceed 35%.

Explaining the issue of fees, Ms. Qi Ping said that the Vietnamese agricultural booth is a cross-border e-commerce platform, like Amazon and other e-commerce platforms, Sunwah Gelafood provides suppliers with services from product storage to sales to end customers, and collects related fees.

Regarding payment for goods, Ms. Qi Ping said that businesses need to have a foreign exchange payment account in accordance with regulations. Businesses need to accept the payment rules of the relevant e-commerce platform and the financial rules of Sunwah Group; priority is given to businesses that accept payments in RMB. Enterprises not paying in RMB will incur foreign exchange conversion costs and the payment period will be 2-3 working days longer than those paying in RMB; except for the first installment (the first installment is expected to take 40-60 working days). The platform can pay enterprises weekly; timely reconciliation of books with Sunwah Group's accounting department.

From September 2022 to September 2023, TikTok sold 4.73 billion agricultural product orders, an average of 13 million orders/day sold across China. According to Ms. Qi Ping, Vietnamese agricultural products sold to China through e-commerce have been highly appreciated by Chinese consumers for their quality, but need to improve packaging and diversify tastes. Because online shoppers are young, these factors are very important for Vietnamese agricultural products to create a competitive advantage.

Increasing export opportunities through cross-border e-commerce

China has been Vietnam's largest trading partner for many consecutive years. According to statistics from the General Department of Customs, by the end of the third quarter of 2024, Vietnam's exports to China reached 44.4 billion USD, a slight increase of 2.94% over the same period last year (equivalent to an additional turnover of 1.27 billion USD).

On August 19, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam and the General Department of Customs of China signed 3 Protocols on the export of frozen durian, fresh coconut and crocodile from Vietnam to the Chinese market.

Mr. Nguyen Minh Tien - Director of Agricultural Trade Promotion Center - speaking at the conference

Previously, in order to enhance the promotion of Vietnamese agricultural products to directly access the Chinese market, and promote the export of Vietnam's strong agricultural and aquatic products to the Chinese market, under the direction of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam, on June 23, 2023, the Agricultural Trade Promotion Center and Sunwah Group Hong Kong (China) signed a Letter of Intent for cooperation, including the content of cooperation in building and operating Vietnamese agricultural product booths on Chinese e-commerce and social networking platforms.

According to Mr. Nguyen Minh Tien - Director of the Agricultural Trade Promotion Center, the official operation of the "Vietnamese Agricultural Products Booth" on Chinese e-commerce platforms and social networks has marked an important turning point in cross-border e-commerce for Vietnamese agricultural products. This is the best opportunity for Vietnamese agricultural products to get closer to the Chinese market.

"Previously, when Vietnamese enterprises exported agricultural products to the Chinese market through distributors and importers, they then brought them back to be packaged according to designs and packaging suitable to Chinese tastes. Therefore, when exporting directly, Vietnamese enterprises need to invest more in this stage," Mr. Nguyen Minh Tien recommended.

Source: Cong Thuong Newspaper