Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The Ministry of Industry and Trade's Department ofE-commerce and the Digital Economy has been cooperating with e-commerceplatforms to remove barriers to the transportation of essential goods duringthe COVID-19 outbreak.

This will increase the supply of agricultural products and essential goods andalso reduce pressure on local authorities, especially in cities and provincesapplying social distancing such as Ho Chi Minh City and the southern provinces.

The Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy is cooperating closely withsix major e-commerce platforms in Vietnam to implement programmes that promotethe sale of essential goods including vegetables and fruits.

In HCM City, Tiki, one of the leading e-commerce platforms in Vietnam, hasincreased the goods supply focusing on essential products like rice, freshfood, masks, hand sanitizer and dry food such as cakes, candies and instantnoodles.

Tiki has also joined the programme "Moving food to stabilise prices",an initiative of the HCM City Department of Industry and Trade on comingtogether to supply essential goods and food.

In 19 southern provinces applying distance, the Viettel Post Corporation(Viettel Post) has opened new mobile selling points in Dong Nai and Vung Tau andprepared essential goods for supply to other localities.

The e-commerce platform Voso.vn of Viettel Post has also worked withagricultural product suppliers in Lam Dong and Binh Thuan to open new storessupplying fresh products such as vegetables and eggs.

Voso.vn has also opened price stabilisation shops supplying more than 2,000goods items with stable and cheap prices, and delivery in only 1-3 days forpeople in isolated and restricted areas.

The department said the Sendo e-commerce platform has also implemented a"Shop at home" programme, but it faces difficulty in trading goodsbecause some warehouses are located in blocked areas and the sudden increase indemand for some goods has led to temporary supply shortages.

Sendo has solved these problems by working closely with many differentsuppliers to ensure their supply of goods.

A representative of the Voso.vn e-commerce platform said there is somedifficulty delivering goods to the people with transport restricted in someareas. Therefore, there are some orders that are delivered later than usual.

In this cooperation with the ministry, the Vietnam Post Corporation (VN Post)has also been building price stabilisation shops at post offices. The people inisolated areas can order by phone via apps like Zalo and then VN Post postalstaff will deliver the goods.

By the end of July 22, 2021, VN Post had opened 1,915 selling points.

The department has also proposed that the Ministry of Industry and Trade helpe-commerce platforms and delivery companies where possible.

For provinces and cities that are applying social distancing measures under theGovernment's Directive 16, the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy hasproposed industrial and trade departments to encourage consumers to orderessential goods on reputable e-commerce sites.

In the past, the restriction of deliveries has interrupted supply chains. Thishas led to an increase in people attending supermarkets and wet markets,leading to a higher risk of COVID-19 infection./.