Food products on display at a fair in HCM City (Photo: VNA)VoTan Thanh, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry(VCCI), said the industry continues to have great potential and is expected togrow at 5-6 percent a year in 2020-2025.
“However,changes in consumers’ habits and the COVID-19 pandemic are reshaping it,requiring businesses to have a coping strategy.”
Sincemost buyers around the world search for products on search engines ore-commerce platforms, businesses need to embrace technology, he said.
TranPhu Lu, Deputy Director of the Trade and Investment Promotion Centre of HCMCity, said amid the unpredictability in global trade due to the pandemic,online exports is not only one of the most effective and fastest ways forbusinesses to access all markets but also an inevitable trend.
LyKim Chi, Chairwoman of the Food and Foodstuff Association of HCM City,said: “Food and foodstuffs is an industry that meets the essential needsof society, and so, despite the pandemic, demand continues to grow well in thedomestic market while export prices of some items have increased, a positivesign for the future.
"Manybusinesses have invested in modern production technology and equipment toimprove their quality and design, and Vietnamese food and foodstuff productsare exported to the US, China, Southeast Asia, EU, and Japan," she said.
Peopleare increasingly shopping online, especially in big cities, providingbusinesses with the opportunity to sell more on e-commerce platforms, she said.
Demandfor processed foods is increasing and diversifying, especially for organicnutritional products, she added.
ButVietnamese food and beverages are also facing fierce competition from foreignfirms in the domestic market in terms of quality, design and prices.
Sothey need to take advantage of all distribution channels, especiallye-commerce, to expand their markets both at home and abroad, she told theonline export forum for the food and beverage industry held in HCM Citylast Thursday by VVCI, Allibaba.com and OSB Investment and Technology JSC.
VuThe Tung, Government Relations and Business Development Director atAlibaba.com, said his company has witnessed a dramatic increase in onlineorders amid the pandemic, with a 92 percent increase in active buyers and 177 percentincrease in number of orders in July.
TheF&B industry’s traffic on Alibaba.com has increased significantly duringthe pandemic, he said.
Amongthe top 100 product categories in terms of sales growth, 48 are food andbeverage-related industries, including instant foods, health foods, energyfoods, seasoning, and functional foods, he said.
Onlinetrade shows have enabled agricultural businesses to generate more traffic andbusiness opportunities online, he said.
TrinhVan Hai, head of marketing at the Nam Viet Foods and Beverage Co., Ltd, asuccessful seller on Allibaba.com, said with the development of technology andchanges in shopping habits, e-commerce is the fastest and most effective toolto reach consumers.
"Toeffectively exploit e-commerce platforms, businesses need to research andanalyse buying trends, optimising search keywords and effectively utilisingvisual tools to introduce products and services in as detailed a manner aspossible.
“Onglobal e-commerce platforms, each item has many suppliers and so competitivepressure is huge, but this is the driving force for enterprises to improve thequality of products and services, thereby earning the long-term trust ofcustomers.”
TranDinh Toan, deputy general director of OSB, a partner of Alibaba.com in Vietnam,said after opening an account on the platform, exporters get support forbuilding e-commerce sites and receive guidance on how to secure deals and tradeinternationally.
Alibaba.comis the world's largest B2B e-commerce marketplace, and Vietnamese exporterswith a page on it could reach over 190 countries where it operates, he added./.
VNA
