Up to now, only growing areas for export have been interested in the issue of granting planting area codes according to the requirements of each market.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam

However, talking to the press recently, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam said that the raw material area for domestic use must also have a planting area code. Thus, new Vietnamese agricultural products can increasingly enter and occupy strongpositions in modern supermarkets and distribution channels.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has just had a meeting with the Vietnam Retailers Association. The two sides have considered a cooperation mechanism to promote Vietnamese agricultural products for consumption in modern distribution channels. Can yougive usmore details about this cooperation mechanism?

At a recent meeting, corporations and businesses inthe Vietnam Retailers Association all agreed with the view of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development that it is necessary to create a coordination mechanism. This coordination mechanism is not only during the current Covid-19 pandemic, but also ensures long-term development so that Vietnamese agricultural products are consumed more in supermarkets and modern distribution channels, helping farmers be more professional and methodical.

This cooperation mechanism is not only aimed at lychee consumption but also a variety of agricultural products that are about to enter the season, creating a connection between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and localities so that businesses can facilitate trade.

In order to improve production capacity and market access for cooperatives, the Vietnam Retailers Association also proposed organizing training courses. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development fully concurs. The association can coordinate with units of the Ministry to deploy the most effective coordination plan.

Currently, what many retail businesses are interested in isbuilding a large enough raw material area, providing uniform volume and stable prices. How has the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development been focusing on developing raw material areas to meet the above factors?

Building material areas is a decisive issue for agricultural production. Recently, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan worked with the Plant Protection Department and asked not only to issue a planting area code for export but also to issue a planting area code for domestic consumption.

Areas of raw materials, even for domestic use, must have a growing area code. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will include new rural construction criteria to encourage localities to develop planting area codes for raw material areas.

In fact, at present, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is piloting the construction of five large raw material areas for enterprises in ecological zones with an estimated area of about 26,000 ha.

Specifically, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is building a pineapple and passion fruit material area in Son La, which Dong Giao Company (Doveco) will consume. In this material area, the ministry plans to build cold storage.

In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is building FSC-certified forest material areas in ThuaThien - Hue, Quang Tri; coffee growing areas for export in Dak Lak, Gia Lai; fruit trees (banana, mango, durian) in Long An, Tien Giang; high quality rice areas in KienGiang, An Giang.

Agricultural products that want to promote consumption in the modern
retail system need to be granted a planting area code. Photo T.D

The goal is to provide quality agricultural products for export and domestic consumption. These material areas will be granted planting area codes and will be allowed to implement agricultural extension projects to improve product quality.

In addition, in order to improve the mechanization and product processing capacity, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development also advises the Government to develop a strategy on improving the mechanization and processing capacity of agricultural products to reduce post-harvest losses. The goal is to build a regional mechanization model to improve product quality and productivity.

From an enterprise perspective, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development commits that businesses and corporations want to build raw material areas where the Ministry will coordinate or support local construction.

Many have that the lack of agricultural product supply centers, especially the lack of cold storage, causes many difficulties and obstacles in the consumption of agricultural products. Whatsolutionsdoes the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development have to contribute to overcome this problem?

Currently, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is developing a project of an agricultural product supply center on the basis of learning from the French wholesale market model. The function of these centers is not only to supply agricultural products, but also to inspect and preserve agricultural products.

In the immediate future, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has a plan to pilot construction in Hanoi, Quang Ninh, Ho Chi Minh City and Can Tho. For the problem of building cold storage, I affirm that developing a cold storage system is necessary, but we should not rush to invest, but we should consider the efficiency of using goods throughout the year, not just according to the season.