Cross-border e-commerce drives export opportunities for Vietnamese products: forum

Director of the Vietnam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency Le Hoang Oanh (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi – The Vietnam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade on November 26 organised the 2024 E-Commerce Connection and Development Forum themed “Cross-border e-commerce: Export opportunities for Vietnamese products”.

In her opening speech at the forum, Le Hoang Oanh, the agency’s director, emphasised that in 2023, Vietnam witnessed remarkable growth in e-commerce. She quoted a report by Amazon Global Selling Vietnam as saying that over 17 million products were exported, with value increasing by 50% and the number of selling partners growing by 40%. The overall cross-border e-commerce sector grew by 28.5% compared to the previous year.

These figures clearly demonstrate the immense potential and the relentless efforts of Vietnamese enterprises in making the most of digital platforms to expand into international markets, Oanh stated.

Statistics show that Vietnam is among the top performers globally and regionally, with e-commerce growth ranking in the top 10 worldwide. The value of this market reached 20.5 billion USD in 2023, and is forecast to hit 45 billion USD by 2025.

Oanh also pointed out that cross-border e-commerce serves as a leverage for online exports. A recent survey revealed that 53% of businesses engage in exports through e-commerce platforms, while 47% use self-built websites or apps. Additionally, 60% of businesses acknowledged that the value of imports and exports via e-commerce accounts for 10-30% of their total trade.

Liu Liang, a representative from the Yunnan Department of Commerce, and President of the Yunnan E-Commerce Association, said that Vietnam's key products, such as farm produce, handicrafts, clothing, and footwear, have significant potential in the Chinese market.

According to him, Vietnamese dragon fruit, cashews, and coffee beans have already reached Chinese consumers' dining tables through Yunnan's cross-border e-commerce platforms. In the future, with the optimisation of logistics and policies, the market share of these products will continue to expand.

To promote trade cooperation between Vietnam and China, Liu proposed building a more complete e-commerce ecosystem.

Specifically, this involves continuing to improve the logistics and warehouse network, constructing more bonded warehouses and sorting centres, and conducting market analysis accurately through big data and artificial intelligence to help businesses better understand the needs of Chinese consumers.

He also highlighted the importance of promoting green e-commerce, and encouraging eco-friendly packaging, and low-carbon logistics to contribute to global sustainable development./.