To promote exports, Vietnam should continue to improve quality and promote its agricultural brands globally ( File Photo) LeVan Banh, head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Departmentof Processing and Trade for Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Products and SaltProduction, said Vietnam is among the largest exporters of many agriculturalproducts like coffee, pepper, cashew, and fruits and vegetables.
But80 percent of it is exported without brand names and sold in foreign marketsunder foreign brands, which is a big disadvantage for Vietnamese farm produce,he said.
BuiThi Thanh An, deputy director of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency, said, “Weexport a lot of coffee and tea, but few consumers know they are using productsfrom Vietnam.”
Insteadof supplying just raw materials, many firms have invested in modern productiontechnologies to make products of good quality and with high value addition, butdeveloping brands remains a big challenge for them, she said.
Manyforeign customers thought for a long time that Vietnamese products were low inprice and quality, which greatly affected the country’s exports, she said.
Topromote exports, Vietnam should continue to improve quality and promote itsgood things globally, she said.
Inrecent years the Government, industries and businesses have tried to build andprotect Vietnamese agricultural brands, delegates said.
Butthe lack of a master plan and co-operation between various stakeholders meansthe results have been poor, they said.
LuuDuc Thanh of the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam said thenumber of applications for the protection of collective or certified orgeographical indications brands is increasing every year.
“We[have] granted 649 collective brand certifications.”
Besides,52 geographical indications are protected in Vietnam, he said.
Buta majority of the brands have not been managed effectively, with very fewcertified brands available in the market, he said.
Onlya few geographical indications have been promoted well, like Phu Quoc fishsauce, Buon Ma Thuot coffee, Binh Thuan dragon fruit, Hung Yen longan and HoaLoc mango.
Toensure the quality and protect the reputation of their specialties, producersand traders in each locality should form a collective organisation (likeassociation) to consolidate their strength and come up with strategies todevelop brands, he said.
Banhsaid the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is implementing a planto develop brands for key agricultural products with an initial focus on mango,dragon fruit, tea, coffee and tra fish.
Hisministry has recommended that the Government should offer small andmedium-sized enterprises and co-operatives preferential policies in terms ofcredit, land and others and create a legal framework for brands and otherrelated aspects, he said.
DangHoang Giang, deputy chairman and general secretary of the Vietnam CashewAssociation, said, “We should focus on building brands for farm produce thathave good demand and pay more attention to quality than quantity.”
DeputyMinister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam said to create abrand for a product three conditions should be met: its production is large andsteady, its quality meets food safety and hygiene standards and iscompetitively priced, and it has a good distribution system.
Buildinga national brand for Vietnamese farm produce is a necessary task, but it is along process and requires combined efforts by relevant ministries, agencies andindustries, especially the business community, he said.-VNA
VNA
