Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)The event is part of activities in the framework of the project "Enhancingthe Export Competitiveness of Vietnamese Small and MediumEnterprises in Spice, Fruit and Vegetable Sub-Sectors" (SFV-Export) and a project to promote bilateral trade and investmentcooperation between Vietnam and important and strategic partner countries.
It aims to assist businesses in raising the added value of Vietnameseagricultural products, building sustainable brands and boosting export capacity to key markets such as the EuropeanUnion (EU) and other countries.
Addressing the seminar, Pham Duc Nghiem, DeputyDirector of the Market Development and Science-Technology Enterprises Department under the Ministry ofScience and Technology, provided insights into the research and application ofscience and technology, and innovation in the agricultural sector, which has received more and more attention nationwide.
He also pointed out difficulties facing the application ofscience and technology and innovation efforts in the agricultural sector, including small-scale production and a lack of policies to encourage businessesto engage in innovation and technology transfer in agricultural production.
According to Nguyen Van Hoi, Director of the Institute for Strategy and Policy Research under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), the totalexport turnover of agricultural products in the first eight months of 2023 hit16.9 billion USD, up 11.5% year-on-year. Of which, the export of vegetables andfruits, rice, cashew nuts, and coffee reached 3.55 billion USD (up 61.8%), 3.17billion USD (up 36.1%), 2.23 billion USD (up 8.9%), and 2.94 billion USD (up2.3%), respectively.
Despite integration achievements, agricultural exporters’readiness for integration remains modest, and the exploitation ofopportunities from international economic integration and the implementation ofcommitments in free trade agreements (FTAs) for developing the agriculturalexport market has not yet proved effective, he noted.
Vietnam still lacks policies to encourage and strengthen linkagesbetween agricultural exporters and FDI enterprises to improve the combinedstrength in terms of capital, technology, and management expertise when joiningglobal supply chains, Hoi stressed.
Participants emphasised the need for businesses, cooperativesand cooperative groups to strongly spur the application of technologies, IT,and AI in smart agricultural production, and in managing the production processin line with the value chain in association with traceability.
Hoi proposed solutions to expand the export of spices,vegetables and fruits, saying that attention should be paid to developing logisticsservices, reducing logistics costs, and increasing the application of IT inlogistics activities for spices, vegetables, and fruits exports./.
VNA
