HCM City (VNA) - Food, beverages, and agricultural products can beviewed as the commodity groups which have enjoyed robust growth throughe-commerce platforms, with each of them anticipated to see plenty of room forfurther development, heard a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City.

The workshop, organised by on January 12 by the HCM City Investment and Trade Promotion Centre (ITPC), aimed at discussing solutions for boosting exports via Alibaba.com, one of theworld’s leading e-commerce platforms. 

Tran Phu Lu, Deputy Director of the ITPC, emphasised that e-commerce has become a new business trendglobally, with the nation’s e-commerce growth index in recent years reachinghigh at over 30 percent annually, and revenue at approximately 3 billion USD.

Lu noted that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has posed both challenges andopportunities for businesses as they strive to promote trade activities viaonline platforms. He also advised local businesses to take advantage of trendsand focus on the export of essential products, such as food, personal careitems, and household appliances.

Bui Nha Uyen, Manager of Alibaba Dealer Channel in Vietnam, pointed out thatthe impact of COVID-19 has seen consumers prioritise shopping through onlineplatforms, with markets such as the United States, India, Canada, Brazil,Australia, and the UK taking the lead.

Alibaba's statistics indicate that despite complicated developments relating tothe COVID-19 pandemic, the number of visitors to e-commerce sites witnessed anincrease of 92 percent, and the quantity of orders skyrocketed by 177 percent.

As the purchasing power of some major markets is forecast to enjoy a recoveryin the post-COVID-19 period, the trend of online shopping becomes increasinglypopular as it saves time and cost for sellers, which is expected to open upbright prospects ahead for the export of agricultural products, food, andbeverages in future.

According to Tran Thi Yen Phi, Managing Director of the DWS Company, hercompany has grasped the latest trend through actively launching digitalplatforms in order to join reputable and large-scale e-commerce floors.

She advised small businesses to cooperate with large e-commerce platforms whichhave had ecosystems for operating stores, providing shipping and after-salesservices in order to save cost and time./.