Article 3: To overcome the "green barrier," the cooperation of ministries and sectors is needed.

Ms. Le Viet Nga, Deputy Director of the Domestic Market Department ( Ministry of Industry and Trade ), had a discussion with the press regarding this issue.

After six years of organizing Vietnam Week in Thailand, only 19 businesses have managed to get their goods into the supermarket system through official channels. Furthermore, according to businesses, when they want to get their products into AEON, the importers want to import them under their own name. What is your assessment of this situation?

Over the past six years of organizing the Vietnam Week in Thailand, businesses have learned a great deal about building an image, introducing goods, and designing packaging that suits the tastes of Thai people and people around the world .

The Vietnam Week in Thailand 2023 attracted a large number of Thai and international customers.

In addition, businesses are also focusing on the health-conscious product segment and aiming for sustainable and green consumption to keep up with the consumption trends of the Thai market as well as globally.

In my opinion, we need a gradual upgrade campaign. First, we need to get Vietnamese goods into the distribution systems of FDI enterprises in Vietnam. The next step would be to manufacture goods under their brands. Through this, Vietnamese businesses will learn about the quality and production methods, including packaging, to ensure suitability for consumers.

Furthermore, Vietnamese businesses need to invest more in building their own private labels. This will allow them to establish their own brands and introduce them into the supermarket systems of FDI companies.

This is necessary, especially given that Vietnam is not yet familiar with exporting goods into foreign distribution systems, particularly with extremely large orders.

Currently, the methods of organizing production and investing in technology to leverage the potential and capabilities of Vietnamese businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, are still facing many difficulties.

Currently, only large enterprises can bring a significant amount of goods through official channels into Central Retail's distribution system, such as Trung Nguyen coffee and Vinamilk . Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) need to grow and require separate funding sources. The challenge is how to help them grow and meet orders in terms of quality, quantity, packaging, and design.

Some businesses have shared that, although their goods have been selected, they are facing obstacles due to bureaucratic procedures and high logistics costs. Do ministries, departments, and localities have any policies to support these businesses, Madam?

We are always at the forefront of trade promotion, connecting supply and demand, negotiating, and opening doors for Vietnamese businesses' goods to enter the distribution systems of FDI enterprises in Vietnam as well as for export. However, to support procedures such as certification, paperwork, origin of goods, packaging, and design, we need the cooperation of various ministries and agencies. For example, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development...

Ms. Le Viet Nga – Deputy Director of the Domestic Market Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade)

The collaboration of other ministries and sectors will provide additional support to businesses, enabling them to meet the rather high requirements, especially the technical standards, in demanding markets.

Green products are currently a trend, even in the Thai market – a market that isn't particularly demanding. However, how do you assess the capacity of Vietnamese businesses to meet these requirements in more upscale markets like Japan and the EU?

Overcoming the current "green barrier" for Vietnamese goods requires a tremendous effort from many stakeholders, as this is an inevitable consumer trend in markets worldwide as well as in Vietnam.

To achieve this, it needs to start right from the production stage. However, currently in Vietnam, green certification is only carried out by international organizations that assess compliance in Vietnam according to the requirements of their respective markets.

Therefore, information needs to be disseminated more widely to all businesses, from small to large, on how to obtain green certification for various distribution systems globally.

This requires collaboration from government agencies in organizing training and communication activities for businesses.

As for how to invest in this transformation, that's an internal matter for us. Getting businesses to comply with these changes isn't easy. We've seen packaging and design changes in retail distribution systems for almost 10 years now, but the replacement of plastic bags is still very slow.

Furthermore, manufacturing businesses are very slow in transitioning their packaging from biodegradable to recyclable materials… This will take a much longer time.

Currently in Vietnam, the focus is on recycling and recovery, without upgrading to environmentally friendly packaging. Therefore, careful planning is needed to encourage businesses to use packaging with environmentally friendly designs.

Green consumption is a necessary trend. So, what strategies do we have to promote green consumption, Madam?

Currently, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has developed an action plan to implement the Prime Minister's National Strategy on Green Growth for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, and has assigned relevant units within the Ministry to carry out this work.

Products made from environmentally friendly materials always receive consumer support.

Through the Domestic Market Department, we consistently support, encourage, connect, promote, and communicate environmentally friendly products that align with green consumer trends.

Initially, we are introducing these products through modern distribution systems such as supermarkets, shopping malls, and large retailers to the community and consumers so they can understand what green consumption and green products are.

Currently, the focus of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's product group is on textiles, green energy, footwear, etc.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade is one of the pioneering ministries in green consumption, having spent over 10 years on the biofuel transition. E5 gasoline has become very familiar in the Vietnamese market, and 100% of gas stations nationwide carry E5 gasoline.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade is also the earliest and fastest to adopt this approach, especially in the consumer goods sector. We also hope that other ministries and sectors will work together and provide support to organize a distribution system with an increasing proportion of green products in the market.

Thank you, ma'am!

In the context of increasingly demanding domestic and international markets, more decisive solutions are needed to promote sustainable production and consumption based on innovation, creativity, and the practice and development of sustainable production and consumption models.

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