Quality is the No. 1 factor to enhance Vietnamese fruit and vegetable brands

At the workshop "Supply Chain Connection and Solutions to Enhance Brand Value of Vietnamese Vegetables, Flowers, and Fruits" recently held in Hanoi, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tung, Deputy General Director of Dong Giao Foodstuff Export Joint Stock Company (Doveco), evaluated the supply chain of Vietnam's fruit and vegetable industry. He said that recently, farmers and businesses have changed their awareness about the fruit and vegetable supply chain, thereby taking specific actions that contribute to promoting the growth of the export turnover of fruits and vegetables.

Although many positive results have been achieved, Vietnam's fruit and vegetable supply chain still faces many challenges. The first is in the production stage.         

According to Mr. Tung, although Vietnam has a lot of potential to expand the area of fruit and vegetable farming, production is still fragmented and small, especially in the Northwest provinces. This situation makes it difficult to apply mechanization and science and technology in production stages to create raw materials for processing and consumption factories.

Notably, Mr. Tung also mentioned that farmers still lack knowledge in using chemical fertilizers and pesticides. "The current raw material source does not meet the organic consumption trend of many markets around the world," Mr. Tung emphasized.

Regarding the processing stage, Mr. Tung said that up to now, large businesses investing in deep processing are still very limited, especially foreign-invested ones. According to him, investing in deep processing technology to meet the requirements of demanding markets often has high investment costs. However, Doveco has made great efforts in this matter.

Mr. Tung shared: "Doveco has turned 69 years old this year and will turn 70 years old next year. We are proud to be a business mastering technology and one of the few units with a closed chain from growing raw materials and bringing them to the processing factory to directly selling products to the international market. Doveco currently exports to more than 40 markets globally."

Regarding the consumption stage, according to Mr. Tung, farmers still rely mainly on traditional channels such as markets and supermarkets. There are not many consumption linkage contracts because the commodity thinking and market thinking of farmers have not been significantly formed.

Referring to solutions to strengthen supply chain connections and enhance the brand value of Vietnamese fruits and vegetables, Mr. Tung emphasized that the first factor is quality. Product quality must be managed right from the input material stage. It is necessary to orient farmers on what the market needs now to avoid a situation of "good harvest, bad price" and following the trend like in recent years.

"Currently, state management agencies have had clear directions for the fruit and vegetable industry, but farmers' implementation is still following the trend," Mr. Tung said.

In addition, the State needs to plan fruit-growing areas suitable to the geography, climate, and soil of each area. Mr. Tung affirmed, "With the development of science and technology, we can invest in fertilizer and crop varieties to increase productivity and quality, but there is one factor that we cannot invest in, which is climate."

Another solution emphasized by Mr. Tung is product diversification and innovation. According to Mr. Tung, there need to be policies and decisions related to the market, thereby helping businesses and farmers decide to produce products suitable for consumer needs and tastes."

Finally, the Deputy General Director of Doveco emphasized the important role of economic contracts in building sustainable linkages between farmers and businesses. According to him, local governments need to step in more strongly to ensure that contracts are implemented transparently and seriously. This not only helps farmers stabilize output but also creates motivation for businesses to invest for the long term in Vietnam's fruit and vegetable industry.

Dong Giao Foodstuff Export Joint Stock Company (Doveco) was established as a military farm that was gathered and built by Southern cadres and Dien Bien soldiers after the liberation. Since its establishment, Doveco has built a closed production model along the value chain from agricultural production, processing, and vegetables and fruits exporting.