Efforts are needed to change the mindset of "itinerant traders".

Thời báo Ngân hàng•14/04/2023

Successfully building a national brand will support domestic businesses in developing production, enhancing their competitiveness in the international market, helping farmers escape the problem of planting and then cutting down their crops, and providing them with higher and more stable incomes.

Over the past few years, the agricultural sector has focused on building the "Vietnam rice" brand, but no rice products under this brand have yet been exported. The process of building a brand for Vietnamese agricultural products remains at a standstill…

According to Mr. Phan Van Chinh, Director of the Import-Export Department ( Ministry of Industry and Trade ), agricultural exports brought in $47 billion in 2022, accounting for 12.9% – a significant proportion of the country's total export turnover. Mr. Chinh stated that the brand building program, assigned by the Prime Minister in 2019, aims to develop food brands for nine product categories: tea, coffee, pepper, cashew nuts, fruits and vegetables, grains, seafood, fresh produce, and honey. However, branding cannot be done indiscriminately for all these products; careful selection and planning are necessary. Branding rice itself is particularly challenging, as Vietnam has over 100 rice varieties, requiring meticulous selection.

Building a national brand for Vietnamese agricultural products is becoming more urgent than ever.

According to statistics, in 2022, Vietnam exported over 1.78 million tons of coffee, generating over $4 billion in export revenue. Despite ranking second in the world for coffee exports, Vietnam does not have any brands among the top 10 global coffee brands. Similarly, Vietnam ranks fifth globally in tea exports and seventh in tea production. However, approximately 90% of exported tea remains in raw form, commanding low prices and sold under the importers' brands; the export of branded finished tea products is still very limited.

Currently, many countries have their own agricultural product brands, such as Norwegian salmon, Japanese Kobe beef, American apples, and New Zealand kiwis. Among Asian countries, Vietnam is also famous for durian, but Malaysian durian, being a well-branded product, fetches very high prices, while Vietnamese durian of comparable quality is cheaper. Musang King durian (from Malaysia) grown in Vietnam is currently selling for 500,000 - 800,000 VND/kg; while Vietnamese Ri6 durian, of comparable quality, only costs around 100,000 VND/kg at most.

Currently, building a national brand for Vietnamese agricultural products is more urgent than ever. This is crucial for opening up access to demanding markets such as Japan, the US, and the EU through signed and effective multilateral and bilateral trade agreements. Successfully building a national brand will support domestic businesses in developing production, enhancing competitiveness in the international market, helping farmers escape the problem of planting and then cutting down crops, and providing them with higher and more stable incomes. This will lead to a high-value agricultural economy instead of the current one based on agricultural production and "trading."

In reality, Vietnam has many products and supplies a large quantity of agricultural and aquatic products to the world, but it lacks a distinctive signature product. Therefore, it is necessary to select a unique product to focus on promoting globally. Once a product is differentiated, it must meet quality standards and have a national-level marketing strategy…

Mr. Nguyen Nhu Cuong, Director of the Department of Crop Production (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), stated that building a brand for Vietnamese agricultural products is both an aspiration and a source of frustration for those currently involved in agriculture. Before venturing into the global market, it's crucial to establish a brand for Vietnamese agricultural products within the domestic market. This responsibility rests with everyone; entrepreneurs and businesses must take the lead and demonstrate initiative, supported by state management agencies.

Mr. Van Huu Hue, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vinh Long province, believes that in order to build a national brand for agricultural products, all levels and sectors need to focus on creating favorable conditions for farmers and businesses to establish specialized production areas according to high-quality standards; and implement linkages in agricultural production and consumption…

“To build a brand, each product first needs to establish a stable, transparent, and monitorable raw material supply area. This requires land consolidation and linkages among farming households. In addition, close links between growing areas and businesses are crucial to ensuring production volume and quality for brand building. Simultaneously, it is necessary to effectively register trademark protection abroad, research varieties, grant geographical indications, and promote processing and deep processing to create added value, all of which contribute to gradually building brands for Vietnamese agricultural products,” Mr. Nguyen Nhu Cuong emphasized.

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