Hanoi (VNA) - Following successful sales of lychees, effortshave been made to sell other Vietnamese farm produce on e-commerce platforms, theNong nghiep Viet Nam (Vietnam Agriculture) newspaper has reported.

Overcoming technicalbarriers

Lychees grown in the northern province of Hai Duong officially went onsale on one of Vietnam’s leading online marketplaces, Lazada, on May 14. Morethan 3 tonnes have been sold since.

The fruit then became available on Sendo 10 days later, which sold 6 tonneson the first day at 18,000 VND (0.78 USD) per kilo. The volume is projected todouble within a few more days.

Lychees grown in Bac Giang province, dubbed Vietnam’s “lychee kingdom”,are to be sold on e-commerce platforms at home and abroad this month, includingAlibaba and Amazon. The province also bolsters online purchases on websitessuch as dacsanlucngan.vn and vaithieubacgiang.vn.

Sales of lychees and other farm produce on online marketplaces requireefforts from various stakeholders. A programme was piloted last year and is nowproceeding in the face of COVID-19, said Hoang Minh Chien, Vice Director of theVietnam Trade Promotion Agency (VIETRADE) at the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

He noted that online sales face difficulties in supply, as it takesmany steps for products to reach consumers and strict preservation methods areneeded.

Quality commitments to customers are also a matter of concern becauseVietnamese prefer to buy agro products in-person to directly examine the quality.When choosing products online, they need appraisals from relevant agencies andcommitments from stakeholders in the supply chain.

The greatest barrier is the lack of knowledge among farmers about onlinesales, Chien pointed out, adding that many growers find it difficult to offertheir products and attract customers on the channel.

Local authorities must devise incentives for farmers to apply digitaltechnology in farm produce cultivation and consumption, he underlined.

Other agro products to hite-commerce sites

Following lychees, other fruit in season will be sold on e-commerceplatforms, in particular mangoes and plums from Son La, longans from Hung Yen,and dragon fruits from Binh Thuan.

Farmers are advised to diversify and thoroughly study demand in markets,build their brands, and pay due regard to packaging.

Vietnamese agro products will hold more advantages in the global marketif digitalisation and advanced technology are applied efficiently, Chien said.

In March, VIETRADE joined hands with certain online marketplaces tosell agro products from Hai Duong after social distancing measures were imposedto curb the spread of COVID-19./.