Farmers prepare lychee for distribution in the northern province
of Bac Giang. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy. 

Nearly 8,000 Vietnamese farmers started trading on e-commerce platforms in the first six months, up 191 percent year-on-year, as authorities pushed development of the digital economy. 

The total value of agriculture produce on e-commerce platforms in the period tripled to VND944 billion ($41 million), according to a Ministry of Information and Communications report.

It stated this was the result of the ministry and municipal authorities pushing postal companies to partner with e-commerce platforms to help distribute produce.

This year, Vietnam’s lychees became the first agriculture produce to be exported to Europe via a domestic e-commerce platform.

Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung said e-commerce and logistics is the future of the postal sector, thanks to technology paving the way.

Vietnam’s digital economy is forecast to grow by 29 percent annually from 2020 to $52 billion by 2025, according to a study by Google, Temasek Holdings and Bain & Co.