Hanoi (VNA) 🌺– Although e-commerce has facilitatedthe consumption of products, there are still many others that have not yetaccess to this modern business platform, especially for those from ethnic andmountainous areas, heard a seminar in Hanoi onOctober 16.

The seminar, which was held by Cong Thuong (Industry andTrade) Magazine, aims to promote the sale of products from ethnic minoritiesand mountainous areas through e-commerce platforms. Nguyen An Son from the E-Commerceand Digital Economy Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), saidthat the agency has regularly organised training classes on e-commerce for peoplein ethnic minority areas, thereby helping raise awareness and encourage peopleto use e-commerce. To develop infrastructure and support services fore-commerce, the agency has also developed solutions for electronic payment andlogistics which play a key role in creating a favourable environment forbusinesses to successfully apply e-commerce and digital technology, he said. It has also helped to bring hundreds of local specialties and OCOP (One Commune One Programme) products for sale on e-commerceplatforms, thanks to a series of support programmes for businesses, Son added.

Hoang Thi Huyen, Head of the Online Business Department under the Vietnam Post Corporation, said that recently, Vietnam Post and Postmart havecarried out campaigns to support the consumption of agricultural products.

ꦬ With the support of the Ministry of Information andCommunications, the MoIT, and the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment, agricultural products such as Bac Giang lychees, Son La plums, andYen Chau mangoes have been sold well on the Postmart platform with volume of up to thousands of tonnes.

However, there are still many products that have not accessed this modern business platform, participants said,adding that the connection and consumption of products from ethnic minorities andmountainous areas through e-commerce platforms is only limited to promotion,and the sale value is still low. It is noteworthy that counterfeit goods still exist on these platforms, affecting the choice of buyers. Vu Thi Le Thuy, Director of 3T Farm Cooperative, said thecooperative has regularly adopted digital platforms, especially Facebook, Zalo and fanpages. By implementing communication work on digital platforms, thecooperative finds it easier to reach consumers, she said, adding that one of itschallenges is that their cooperative members have poor knowledge abouttechnology so they can’t exploit the advantages of digital platforms. Son said that in the coming time, the agency will resolvedifficulties related to protecting consumer rights and the issue of fake andcounterfeit goods. It will also organise training classes on e-commerceapplications as well as digital technology for provinces and cities, thereby helping to raise awareness and improve skills in applyinge-commerce, he added./.