Over the past times, although many distribution channels have supported Da Nang farmers to beef up the consumption of their agricultural products, this is still a temporary solution in light of the bumper daily harvest of farming products such as chilies and other types of vegetables. Therefore, displaying agricultural products on e-commerce platforms for sale is a growing trend, an effective and sustainable solution, to help farmers quickly bring their products to consumers in the face of day as well as help buyers approach agricultural products with guarantied quality faster at more economical costs.

Putting agricultural products on e-commerce platforms for sale helps farmers boost the consumption. The Big C Da Nang Mall has increased the purchase of agricultural products sourced from Hoa Vang District in a supportive move. Photo: QUYNH TRANG

The solution to agricultural product consumption-related issues

The Bo Ban chili growing site, nestled in Hoa Phong Commune, Hoa Vang District, covers an area of about 1.3ha with 27 households involving in production. Despite a bumper harvest, Bo Ban farmers were in trouble with high anxiety because of the downgrading trend of the price of chilies. 

Like Bo Ban chilies, many other agricultural products such as squash, seedless lemon in many communes in Hoa Vang District also fell into the same trouble. 

Mr. Bui Dung, Vice Chairman of Hoa Phong Commune Farmers' Association acknowledged: "It is high time for farmers not only to rely on traders but also to promote their products to consumers by themselves, using their internal strengths”

This agency is promoting the establishment of an e-commerce transaction platform exclusively for agricultural products. This virtual site will serve as a place specializing in exchanging, trading and promoting Hoa Vang District-grown agricultural products”.

Till date green chilies and squashes have secured their berths through the e-commerce platform of the Viet Nam Post: PostMart.vn.

Evaluated as an optimal solution, in line with the development trend of technology 4.0 in providing a closed solution from product updates, sales, delivery to payment, PostMart.vn is one of the e-commerce platforms to promote the consumption of specialty products.

Currently, Bo Ban chilies are on display on this online trading floor at the price of 15,000 VND/kg.

Amid the complicated developments of COVOD-19, the promotion of sales through e-commerce channels is an effective solution to help producers expand consumption markets and access digital technology trends.

However, Ms. Tran Thi Thu Nhung, Deputy Director of the Trade Management Office under the municipal Department of Industry and Trade pointed out many challenges to the distribution of farming products on e-commerce sites.

In reality, it is difficult to preserve farming products with a short shelf life and changing prices day by day. The preservation and transportation of the products are also much more difficult than other items such as household appliances, dry goods or electronic equipment.

Another obstacle is the fact that many farmers are still facing many difficulties in applying online trading skills through e-commerce sites to bring their products to consumers.

Bo Ban chilies grown in Hoa Phong Commune, Hoa Vang District are on display for sale on PostMart.vn.

How to eliminate obstacles 

In reality, most farmer households still work in a fragmented fashion instead of a large model.
The product quality is not uniform while the packaging and preservation process is still poor.

Still worse, farmers often finish harvesting and selling and do not pay attention to quality assurance throughout all shipments.

With the emergence of e-commerce methods, therefore, farming products can penetrate deeper into the market, reaching a broader network of consumers.

In particular, e-commerce channels also help farmers and farming cooperatives to grasp buyers' tastes, meet the market demand, thereby adjusting production processes and products’ prices in a more effective manner.

According to Mr. Toan, trading agricultural products on the e-commerce floor is quite risky without a good strategy.

“We have to use specialised vehicles equipped with cold compartments to ensure the quality of fresh fruits, seafood and farming products during transportation”, affirmed Mr.Toan.

In her perspectives, Ms. Nhung underlined a must-do for businesses involved in agricultural production to change their business thinking and methods to adapt themselves to new trading trends.

In particular, focus should be on quality assurance, stable product supplies and good preservation and transportation of goods, thereby creating deeper trust from consumers.

Dr. Vo Quang Tri, the Dean of the Faculty of E-commerce, the Da Nang University of Economics stressed an urgent need to build up a national support programme for the agricultural product consumption through e-commerce activities.

Importance should be attached to assisting farmers in trademark registration, offering training on online trading skills selling to farmers, and joining efforts with universities and businesses specialising in e-commerce to create more human resources for the setting up cross-border e-commerce models majoring in agricultural products and specialties.

Reporting by QUYNH TRANG- Translating by A.T