Processing of export macadamia in Lâm Đồng, a Central Highlands province. — VNA/VNS Photo

Border gate economic zones need to be developed in the Central Highlands region for promoting trade in goods.

Vũ Bá Phú, director of the Trade Promotion Agency, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) made this statement at a conference on trade promotion and import-export development in the Central Highlands region held on April 26 in Đắk Lắk.

This event was jointly held by MoIT's Trade Promotion Agency and Đắk Lắk's Department of Industry and Trade.

Phú said it is necessary to focus on perfecting institutions and policies to remove bottlenecks and use effectively resources in this region for improving its competitiveness.

To more effectively exploit the potential and advantages of the Central Highland region, it needs solutions on promoting science, technology and linkage in production chains to enhance product value, and regional connection to increase trade promotion and import-export activities, he said.

Phú also expected representatives of localities in the region, relevant industry associations and businesses at the conference to put forward solutions to increasing efficiency of regional trade promotion activities, and enhancing connection to national trade promotion activities.

In addition, the Central Highlands region needs supports in finding export markets for its products and services in the context of having many challenges in the world and national economic situation, such as inflation.

On November 15, 2022, the Government issued Resolution No. 152/NQ-CP on socio-economic development and ensuring national defence and security in the Central Highlands by 2030, with a vision to 2045, the agency reported.

Accordingly, the region will strive for quick and sustainable development by accelerating regional economic growth with a focus on developing agricultural, forestry and processing sectors.

According to the Trade Promotion Agency, the Central Highlands region, embracing five provinces of Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Đắk Lắk, Đắk Nông and Lâm Đồng, is an important strategic area in the Laos - Việt Nam - Cambodia development triangle area.

This region has many rare resources and minerals, with over 1 million hectares of basalt red soil, and is home to about a third of the country's forest area and about 90 per cent of the country's bauxite reserves.

As such, the Central Highlands has a great potential for forest economic development, agricultural and forestry product processing, and mineral exploitation and processing.

Now, the region has become an area producing a number of key agricultural products on a large scale, especially industrial crops and fruit trees.

Some of Việt Nam's export products ranked top or second in the region as well as the world come from the Central Highlands, such as coffee, pepper, passion fruit, cashews, macadamia and rubber.

There are many planting areas for precious medicinal herbs, such as Ngọc Linh ginseng, red lingzhi mushroom, and polyscias fruticosa already built and developed in the Central Highlands.

However, the export value of the Central Highlands region remains very modest compared to the whole country.

During the recovery process after the Covid-19 pandemic, the region's export value reached $3.8 billion in 2022 and $3.7 billion in 2023, just about more than 1 per cent of the country's total export value.