To export sustainably, Vietnamese goods must convince Vietnamese people.

(Chinhphu.vn) - To export sustainably, Vietnamese enterprises and manufacturers must have a strong foundation of domestic production capacity and then we can export sustainably. Because, without a solid foundation from the domestic market, when the world market fluctuates, it will directly affect export capacity.

Mr. Tran Huu Linh, Director of the Department of Domestic Management and Development ( Ministry of Industry and Trade )

On October 21, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 2326/QD-TTg approving the Strategy for developing the Vietnamese retail market until 2030, with a vision to 2050. The Strategy strives for total retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue to increase by an average of 11 to 11.5% per year. The Strategy strives for total retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue (excluding price factors) to increase by an average of 11 to 11.5% per year by 2030.

Mr. Tran Huu Linh, Director of the Department of Domestic Management and Development (Ministry of Industry and Trade) had an interview with the Government Electronic Newspaper about solutions to successfully implement the retail market development goals set by the Government.

Improve the quality of goods in the domestic market

The Government has just issued the Strategy for developing the Vietnamese retail market to 2030, with a vision to 2050, which sets an average growth target of 11 - 11.5%/year until 2030. What pillars has the Department of Domestic Market Management and Development identified in developing the modern retail market to ensure successful implementation of the Government's goals?

Director Tran Huu Linh: Recently, the Government issued the Strategy for developing the Vietnamese retail market until 2030, with a vision to 2050, and set a growth target of around 11%. This shows the Government's interest in the domestic retail market.

And in fact, in recent years, the growth rate of the retail market has been very vibrant. In 2024, Vietnam's domestic retail market grew by about 9 - 9.5%. In particular, in the first 9 months of 2025, the growth rate of Vietnam's retail market reached nearly 11%.

On the side of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, to develop the retail market, we focus on 3 main pillars:

Firstly, in terms of policy mechanisms, the Ministry of Industry and Trade closely follows the policies approved by the Government related to retail infrastructure development such as: planning and developing logistics systems, logistics zones, etc.

Second, regarding the development of retail infrastructure, we need to continue to develop and modernize retail infrastructure from traditional markets, convenience stores, etc. to supermarkets and shopping malls. In particular, we need to focus on increasing the quantity and approaching the market in a modern way, because the current speed of e-commerce development is extremely large.

Third, improve the quality of goods in the domestic market. This is an extremely important task that the Ministry of Industry and Trade is aiming for. We have continuously made many recommendations for manufacturers to improve product quality in addition to ensuring consumer rights and combating commercial fraud to restore consumer confidence.

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E-commerce - effective distribution channel

According to the newly approved Strategy, e-commerce will account for about 15 - 20% of total retail sales by 2030. How do you assess the current state of e-commerce in Vietnam and what are the key measures to achieve that number?

Director Tran Huu Linh: The growth rate of e-commerce in Vietnam in the past 3 years has been at the top of the region with an increase of 20 - 23%/year. These figures show that e-commerce is playing an increasingly important role in our retail market.

For example, in the past we still thought that agricultural products were not suitable for online sales, only suitable for business in traditional channels in markets or supermarkets, etc. But now, with e-commerce, agricultural products from fruits, vegetables, rice to processed agricultural products are all effectively sold online.

The proportion of e-commerce in the total retail scale of the entire Vietnamese market is about 10% and in 2025 alone, this number is forecast to grow dramatically with retail revenue on e-commerce of about 32 - 35 billion USD, accounting for nearly 11% of total retail sales.

However, I think this figure does not fully reflect the potential of the retail market in Vietnam. We need to recognize e-commerce as an extremely effective distribution channel for the retail market, for all Vietnamese goods; through e-commerce websites, e-commerce trading floors; through social networks, through shopping forms such as livestream direct sales....

In the upcoming National Assembly session, if the Law on E-commerce is passed by the National Assembly, it will be an important policy that opens a new playground for e-commerce to develop stably and sustainably in Vietnam. I believe that e-commerce trading floors and sales forms such as livestream will increasingly help Vietnamese products reach consumers across the country, and further, internationally.

Vietnamese products must convince Vietnamese people.

In the Strategy, one of the key orientations is "developing production - distribution chains and modern stores to increase national competitiveness". In your opinion, what are the support solutions for Vietnamese enterprises to be able to bring products to domestic distribution and reach out to international markets?

Director Tran Huu Linh : One of the current problems of retail in Vietnam is the price of goods, sometimes not suitable for everyone's pocket. Therefore, to promote the retail market, we must find ways to reduce costs.

But to reduce retail infrastructure costs, logistics infrastructure is very important. How can we connect from the manufacturer to the consumer through the intermediary channel, which is the distribution system; how can we connect the manufacturer to the consumer through the distribution system in the smoothest way and at the lowest cost so that the price of goods will be reduced and bring benefits to consumers.

To do this, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Department of Domestic Market Management and Development are implementing many measures, from policy mechanisms to coordinating with localities to plan logistics centers; zones, ports, stations, warehouses, yards, etc.; converting traditional markets into modern shopping stores, upgrading them into new modern shopping centers.

Not stopping there, we can also develop new shopping channels, such as through outlets - a very popular form abroad that helps bring goods directly from the factory, from the manufacturer to the store, which will greatly reduce shipping costs.

Currently, we are coordinating with localities to re-plan warehouses, yards, and logistics centers to improve distribution channels, shortening the time, distance, and cost between manufacturers and consumers.

Regarding exports, if we want to export sustainably, Vietnamese enterprises and manufacturers must have a strong foundation of domestic production capacity and then we can export sustainably. Because, without a solid foundation from the domestic market, when the world market changes, fluctuations will affect export capacity.

To help businesses improve their internal strength, recently, the Ministry of Industry and Trade as well as the Department of Domestic Market Management and Development have implemented many activities through modern distribution systems to put Vietnamese goods on shelves, thereby selecting Vietnamese products that meet international standards for export.

Along with that, the Department of Management and Development of Domestic Market also built the Gold Global program to improve the quality of products of enterprises. The program targets agricultural products to guide and improve the quality of goods for export-oriented enterprises. Goods will be improved according to the standards of distribution systems, domestic and foreign retail corporations because they are the ones who set the standards for consumers, guide consumers and are also factors with international experience through which they can advise businesses to bring products abroad.

Phan Trang (performed)

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/muon-xuat-khau-ben-vung-hang-viet-phai-thuyet-phuc-duoc-nguoi-viet-102251026213104069.htm