Connecting the chain, increasing the value of agricultural products

Mr. Nguyen Quang Vinh - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of the province Lao Cai - had an interview with the reporter Industry and Trade Newspaper around this issue.

Được biết, Lào Cai có ban hành Nghị quyết số 10-NQ/BTV-TU về chiến lược phát triển Agriculture hàng hóa đến năm 2030, tầm nhìn đến năm 2050, xin ông cho biết các ngành hàng chủ lực của tỉnh là những ngành gì? Định hướng phát triển của tỉnh đối với các ngành hàng này như thế nào?

Lao Cai is a mountainous province with many different microclimates, so it has many endemic products with high export value and potential. In order to exploit the potential and advantages, promote the application of science and technology to develop sustainable agricultural production, associated with product processing and consumption, increase the value of agricultural production, create clean and safe products, improve farmers' lives, and at the same time meet the requirements of international economic integration in the new situation; right from the beginning of the term (2021), Lao Cai Provincial Party Committee issued Resolution No. 10-NQ/BTV on the Strategy for developing key crops to 2030, with a vision to 2050.

Muong Khuong bananas are sold at the Cultural Market to promote the consumption of products from ethnic minority and mountainous areas of Lao Cai province. Photo: MA – MC

Accordingly, there are 6 key industries, including: 5 types of crops: tea, banana, pineapple, medicinal plants, cinnamon and 01 pig farming industry. The province's development orientation goals for these industries by 2025 and 2030 are specifically as follows: For tea, by 2025, the area will reach 8.420 hectares, output will be 70.000 tons, value will reach over 700 billion VND, by 2030 the area will reach about 10.000 hectares, output will reach 93.000 tons, value will reach 1.100 billion VND.

For bananas, maintain and develop commercial banana production areas, focusing on improving product quality and productivity. By the end of 2025, strive to reach an area of ​​over 2.500 hectares, with an output of 70.000 tons and a value of 800 billion VND. Build concentrated production areas following VietGAP standards, ensuring that 100% of commercial banana areas are granted growing area codes; over 90% of output is officially exported.

For pineapple, focus on improving productivity and product quality; strive to reach 2025 hectares by the end of 2.500; by 2030, the area will reach about 3.000 hectares, the output will be about 63.000 tons, the estimated value will reach more than 500 billion VND; continue to build a model of converting new varieties with high productivity and good product quality (MD2, H180 varieties) to gradually replace old varieties with low productivity, promote pineapple crop spreading, serving canned processing for export to the EU market.

For medicinal plants, continue to restructure existing medicinal plant production areas, ensuring sustainable medicinal plant development in Bac Ha, Si Ma Cai, Bat Xat, Sa Pa districts; Convert part of the ineffective corn growing area with suitable natural conditions for medicinal plant development. Strive to maintain and develop the annual medicinal plant area of ​​about 2025 hectares by the end of 1.500. Develop medicinal plants in the direction of commodity production; promote production linkage, linking raw material areas with processing and product consumption facilities. Closely monitor medicinal plant production areas according to GACP-WHO standards to ensure quality; create conditions for businesses to invest in building factories to preserve and deeply process medicinal plants in Bat Xat, Bac Ha, Sa Pa, Lao Cai city. By 2030, the total medicinal plant area will reach 5.000 hectares, with an output of 28.000 tons, worth over 900 billion VND.

For cinnamon, by 2025 the area will reach 52.000 hectares; by 2030 the area will reach 66.000 hectares, with a value of about 1.800 billion VND.

For the pig farming industry: By 2025, the total herd will reach 600.000 heads, worth 2.200 billion VND; by 2030, the total herd will reach 1.000.000 heads, worth 3.900 billion VND. By 2050, the value of commodity production in key industries will reach about 17.000 billion VND, accounting for about 75% of the total value of agricultural production. Forming commodity agricultural production areas according to the value chain, increasing added value and sustainable production.

Create fundamental changes in scale, efficiency, and production level; increase productivity, quality, and competitiveness of agricultural products, contributing to increasing income, improving people's lives, and promoting socio-economic development of the province.

Are there any problems in exporting the province's key products to the Chinese and international markets? What do you think is the cause of this situation?

Although 5/6 of the province's key products have been exported to foreign markets, the export of key products of Lao Cai province still faces some difficulties.

Accordingly, Lao Cai does not have a large international logistics center, so logistics costs at the border gate are high, leading to high export product prices and no competitive advantage. Currently, the Chinese market is introducing many new technical barriers, which have significantly affected Vietnam's agricultural exports. Export products are mainly exported in fresh or semi-processed, raw processed form, so the export value is not high, and market analysis and forecasting are limited.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Vinh - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Lao Cai province. Photo: Chu Khoi

The reason is that there are few concentrated raw material areas with quality certified to meet advanced standards (VietGAP, organic, HACCP, ISO 22000...) serving agricultural exports; Processing technology is still backward, so the value of agricultural products is still low; enterprises operating in the agricultural sector are mainly medium, small and micro-sized, with limited financial capacity and corporate governance.

In addition, some key industries and products with strengths of the province currently have great export advantages but are not yet on the list of official export products to the Chinese market (such as pineapple, medicinal herbs, etc.), so it is difficult to export. The construction of the chain of links between enterprises and farmers is still loose, the building of brands for agricultural products is still limited. Producers and exporting enterprises have limited knowledge and do not properly perceive the importance of complying with the requirements of importing countries, etc.

Để giúp các doanh nghiệp/HTX của Lào Cai xuất khẩu sang thị trường Trung Quốc và thị trường các nước được thuận lợi, giúp doanh nghiệp nắm vững những quy định, yêu cầu cần thiết để đẩy mạnh xuất khẩu nông sản sang thị trường Trung Quốc và các nước khác trên world, Sở đưa ra những giải pháp gì, thưa ông?

Standardizing product quality according to China's requirements is the most important solution for highly effective official exports as well as opening the door for many other products to enter this market in the coming time.

As for Lao Cai's main and core export product, bananas, maintaining stable quality and monitoring quality has become extremely important, especially in the context of Vietnamese bananas having to compete increasingly fiercely with bananas from Cambodia, Laos and the Philippines in the Chinese market.

In addition, promote the development of concentrated commodity material areas with quality certified to meet advanced standards to serve agricultural product exports. Strengthen the management of growing area codes and agricultural product packaging facilities serving exports in the area; proactively guide enterprises and cooperatives on procedures to be granted export agricultural growing area codes, and guide the organization of commodity production in accordance with regulations on agricultural product export standards in the province.

Strengthening production linkages with processing and product consumption to increase the value of agricultural products for export; promoting the transfer of science and technology applications in production, preservation, and processing to improve the quality and competitive value of agricultural products.

Proactively monitor the situation closely, promptly grasp information to provide complete and accurate information on developments in the agricultural market and guide and recommend localities, enterprises, associations and producers to comply with regulations on standards, norms, quality, and regulations of the import market to proactively develop and adjust appropriate production and business plans, ensure supply for domestic consumption and export, and stabilize market prices.

In addition to managing the quality of exported goods well, it is necessary to promote and improve the effectiveness of trade promotion activities. Especially for some industries/groups of goods with export strengths to create a spillover effect to other groups of goods of the same type; organize conferences to promote the consumption of local agricultural products in market areas located deep inland in China to promote export shift in the form of formal trade.

Ngoài ra, cần xây dựng các video ngắn nhằm quảng bá về sản phẩm, thương hiệu, hình ảnh nông sản Việt Nam bằng tiếng Trung Quốc/tiếng Anh trên các nền tảng mạng xã hội Trung Quốc như Tiktok, Wechat, Weibo… để tìm kiếm lượng khách hàng lớn và đa dạng.

Encourage and support businesses to build brands and trademarks; strengthen propaganda and promote the province's potential strengths; gradually improve the quality of trade promotion activities. Regularly grasp and update information on domestic and international markets to businesses and production and business cooperatives in the province.

We propose that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development consider early negotiations with the General Administration of Customs of China to sign a Protocol on phytosanitary requirements for fresh pineapples exported from Vietnam to China. This is an important condition for fresh pineapples from Lao Cai to have a sustainable outlet in the Chinese market as soon as possible.

Thank you Sir!