Mr. Nguyen Thanh Cong, Vice Chairman of the Son La Provincial People's Committee, attended the Conference. Also attending were leaders of the People's Committees of localities in the Northern Midlands and Mountains; leaders of relevant units under the Ministry of Industry and Trade; Vietnamese Trade Offices abroad; Industry associations; representatives of foreign business support agencies and organizations; manufacturing, import-export, trade, logistics service enterprises, etc. The Conference took place in both direct and online formats, creating favorable conditions for the numerous delegates from across the country and abroad to participate.

The Conference on Trade Promotion and Import-Export Expansion in the Northern Midlands and Mountains

The Northern Midlands and Mountains region has a particularly strategic position in the economy, politics, culture, and society. At the same time, it is also a region with many potentials and advantages for sustainable development and many types of rich natural resources, large areas of hills and forests, diverse climates, soils, ethnic diversity, etc. The regional transportation network is being invested in and upgraded, enabling exchanges with other areas in the country and building an open economy. It is these advantages and the exploitation of these advantages that the Northern Midlands and Mountains region has contributed to the success of the country's import-export picture. Specifically, in 2022 and 2023, during the recovery process after the Covid-19 pandemic, the total import-export turnover of the whole region will reach approximately 119.5 billion USD and over 115.5 billion USD, respectively, accounting for nearly 16% of the total import-export turnover of the across country, of which the region's export turnover alone will reach approximately 67.4 billion USD in 2022 and over 64.8 billion USD in 2023, equivalent to 18% of the total export turnover of the whole country.

The structure of the region's exports is quite diverse, contributing to many billion-dollar export groups of the country, such as computers, electronic products and components, phones of all kinds and components, and some agricultural products, etc. The agricultural, forestry, and fishery sectors are the region's strengths and are gradually shifting towards commodity production, intensive farming, and improving productivity and quality. However, localities have not yet fully exploited the potential and strengths of the region. The potential has not transformed into a driving force, potential, and resources. These days, most enterprises are small and medium-sized with limited production capacity, technology level, and competitiveness. Export value is still low, export products are not diverse, and export products are mainly raw and processed. Most export products have not yet built a solid brand. In addition, the connection between enterprises and producers still has many difficulties and shortcomings and has not achieved harmony of interests. Researching and understanding market information, requirements, and conditions during product manufacture is still limited.

To develop the region's economy, trade promotion programs need to be paid attention to and organized more on a large scale, with high regional connectivity to bring benefits, opportunities, and reliable sources of information to organizations and enterprises, creating conditions for developing production and business activities of enterprises, effectively supporting the promotion, introduction, and improvement of product quality, especially products with regional advantages to increase access to export markets.

At the Conference, representatives of the provinces in the region focused on exchanging and discussing solutions to strengthen strengths and minimize internal weaknesses to contribute to the development of intra-regional trade, domestic trade, and import-export activities of the region in the coming time, such as issues on promoting the export of some pivotal agricultural, forestry and fishery products, turning some localities in the area into centers for cultivating and processing of farm produce products for export; attracting foreign direct investment, developing the export of high-tech products, building border economic zones, modernizing logistics activities to support exports, promoting border trade through localities bordering China, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, etc.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade and its functional units shared specific and comprehensive assessments and comments on the potential and advantages of forming a production chain for export goods in the region, solutions for developing import and export, foreign market opportunities for the region's strong products, and efficient trade promotion activities to developing exports in the coming time with the Northern Midlands and Mountains.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Cong, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, spoke at the Conference.

Representing Son La province and speaking at the conference, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Cong, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, said: Son La is the second largest fruit tree granary in the country with an area of over 4,700 hectares of fruit trees for export. The province has formed a concentrated agricultural raw material area with a mass of farm-produced products. Step by step, linking the development of raw material areas with industrial processing facilities, forming farm produce production chains, and exploiting the potential advantages of the locality, Son La province has focused on leading and directing the promotion of agricultural development in the direction of commodity production, concentrating, applying high technology, improving the quality and value of products associated with promoting the processing industry, connecting product consumption according to the value chain. Up to now, some agricultural raw material areas of Son La are among the leading provinces in the country in terms of output and quality, typically products such as Longan, Plum, Mango, Coffee, etc.

Son La's agriculture has developed remarkably in recent years, which is a premise and advantage for developing the agricultural processing industry and trade in Son La province. In the coming time, Son La province will actively remove difficulties and facilitate the development of industrial infrastructure, production, processing, and consumption of agricultural products; promote the formation and development of industrial clusters; issue policies to encourage and support investment in Son La province; promote trade promotion activities, promote, introduce and connect consumption, export of agricultural products, develop e-commerce, etc.

On the sidelines of the Conference, there will also be a display area for typical products of localities in the Northern Midlands and Mountains to support product promotion and trade connection for businesses in the region.

Within the framework of the Conference, the Trade Promotion Agency (Ministry of Industry and Trade) will organize several consultation sessions and trade connection sessions for businesses in the Northern Midlands and Mountains region with many consultants and importers in foreign markets.

                                                                                                                   Le Hong

                                                                                   Translated by Dang Minh Tuan