On November 18, in Hai Phong City, the Ministry of Industry and Trade organized a conference entitled "Connecting production and consumption of products of mountainous, remote, remote and island areas".

The conference aims to share experiences on difficulties and obstacles in practical production and consumption of commercial products in mountainous, remote, and island areas; Propose support solutions, incentive policies and preferentials to promote production and consumption of products and goods that are advantages of mountainous and island areas.

Ms. Le Viet Nga, Deputy Director of the Domestic Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that in many localities across the country, especially in remote, mountainous, and island areas, the consumption of local products is still limited due to geographical fragmentation and difficult travel. Small scale production, low output and poor design are also unfavorable factors affecting the connection and consumption of products for farmers in these areas.

In recent times, many coordination activities between ministries, branches and localities with major e-commerce platforms such as Sendo, Tiki, Shopee, Lazada... have supported thousands of businesses in accessing distribution methods on e-commerce platforms.

The sales of many typical products and specialties of mountainous and island areas such as Ha Giang mint honey, Luc Ngan lychee, Cao Phong orange, Shan Tuyet tea, Bac Ha Tam Hoa plum or Phan Thiet fish sauce... have been promoted through e-commerce channels, bringing a new wave in production and business and reducing dependence on traditional sales methods.

Ms. Nga said that in the coming time, raising awareness about digital transformation and promoting the application of information technology and e-commerce in product promotion, business and consumption will play a very important role.

“Activities to promote programs and projects that have a positive impact on supporting the consumption of ethnic minority products need to be strengthened in the coming time, especially groups of solutions such as propaganda and promotion of ethnic minority products to the domestic consumer community; promoting products through Vietnamese trade channels abroad, Vietnam's trade promotion activities abroad are extremely important," Ms. Nga said.

Many experts said that it is necessary to promote the connection between supply and demand, promote the consumption of typical, strong local products distributed in large domestic supermarkets and for export; forming supply chains for specific products in a modern and sustainable direction.

It is necessary to implement a number of key solutions such as guiding localities to organize activities combining culture, tourism and commerce to both honor the culture of ethnic minorities and develop and sell commercial products.

The trade development program in mountainous, remote and island areas, phase 2 (from 2021-2025) has been approved by the Prime Minister. The overall goal of this program is to bring total retail sales of goods and services in mountainous, remote and island areas to 9-11% per year; Developing branded products and goods that are typical, specialties, potential, and advantages of the region.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has coordinated with relevant localities, agencies and units to closely follow the program's goals and implement 15 projects and tasks.

In particular, these projects focus on activities connecting supply and demand, promoting the consumption of agricultural products, typical products with localities, supporting connection and attracting businesses to invest in, develop purchasing activities and promote agricultural, forestry and fishery products; organize conferences, seminars, and fairs to display, promote, and introduce typical and advantageous products of localities to connect stable consumption into the distribution chain of large domestic supermarkets and for export.

From here, it initially forms supply chains of regionally specific products in a modern and sustainable direction, especially promoting the application of e-commerce in supporting the production and consumption of products for local enterprises, cooperatives, and business households in mountainous, remote, and island areas.

Hong Hanh