Only 1% of HCMC agro-products are on e-commerce platforms.

This was shared by Mr Nguyen Huu Hoai Phu, Deputy Director of the HCMC Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, at the 2024 Conference for meeting and dialogue with businesses, cooperatives, and investors in the agricultural sector with the theme "Promoting the promotion and consumption of agricultural products and OCOP products from Ho Chi Minh City on digital platforms", held on May 22 in Cu Chi District.

The event, organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in coordination with the Cu Chi District People's Committee, aimed to facilitate cooperatives and businesses in the agricultural sector in Cu Chi District to access and understand the method of consuming agricultural products from the district through online consumption on digital platforms. Additionally, it provided a forum for sharing desires, obstacles, and difficulties when participating in business on e-commerce platforms, especially the TikTok Shop e-commerce platform.

Mr Le Dinh Duc, Vice Chairman of the Cu Chi District People's Committee, noted that the number of agricultural products from Cu Chi District being consumed on e-commerce platforms is still quite modest.

Agricultural production units are still hesitant to engage in e-commerce, particularly those producing fresh products, due to the short time from when the products are brought in to when they are sold. Prolonging this time can reduce the quality of the products.

Ensuring quality requires significant investment in infrastructure, including cold storage and specialized transportation.

Delivering products within 3-4 hours while maintaining quality is a challenge for the fresh agricultural product sector. Additionally, accurately predicting the quantity of goods to be sold compared to market demand is crucial.

Moreover, most agricultural production enterprises are small and micro-enterprises, especially cooperatives, where the ability to apply information technology is not yet widespread.

In the initial phase of implementation, units faced several obstacles, such as a lack of specialized personnel knowledgeable about e-commerce, resulting in the maintenance of online stores and customer outreach being ineffective.

Mr Nguyen Huu Hoai Phu, Deputy Director of the HCMC Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, emphasized the necessity of participating in various "markets" to increase the value of agriculture for farmers: traditional markets, wholesale markets, and modern supermarkets. Most importantly, participation in e-commerce platforms is essential to bring the city's agricultural products to customers both domestically and internationally.

"To date, only 1% of HCMC's agricultural products participate in e-commerce platforms. This means we are missing a significant opportunity for farmers to engage in e-commerce, enabling 'local products, global thinking'. Only e-commerce platforms can facilitate global trade.

Meanwhile, HCMC's urban agro-products meet high standards and can confidently participate in e-commerce platforms", said Mr Phu. He noted that the biggest challenge now is for farmers, cooperatives, and businesses to understand the procedures and regulations for trading on e-commerce platforms.

To address this, Mr Phu stated that the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development will direct the city's Agricultural Service Center to collaborate with other units to develop standardized curricula/materials for city agricultural products to participate in e-commerce platforms, which will be submitted to the HCMC People's Committee for approval. Additionally, the department will cover all costs for organizing intensive training for farmers, cooperatives, businesses, and OCOP entities that wish to sell on e-commerce platforms, especially TikTok Shop.

However, the city’s agricultural sector leader also emphasized that for effective promotion, agricultural products must be developed along the value chain.

At the event, nine agricultural businesses and cooperatives participated in a livestream sales activity, supported by Tiktok content creator Phuong Oanh Daily and partner LIVE Channel.

Participating in the livestream, Ms Pham Thi Minh Dung from Clean Agro-product HCMC Cooperative shared her insights: "This is an invaluable opportunity for businesses and cooperatives like ours to gain a preliminary understanding and practical experience with this innovative business model on e-commerce platforms. Engaging in such activities allows us to explore and utilize a new marketing channel, significantly boost our sales, and effectively expand our consumer market. This hands-on experience is crucial as it helps us adapt to the evolving digital landscape, ensuring our products reach a broader audience both domestically and internationally".