Central Highlands hosts foreign business delegation for agricultural trade links
VOV.VN -The Dak Lak Department of Industry and Trade on December 15 hosted a program welcoming a delegation of foreign businesses to trade agricultural products from the Central Highlands, attracting more than 20 companies from China, Singapore, Australia, and the Republic of Korea (RoK).
Opening the event, Nguyen Hai Trieu, Deputy Director of the Dak Lak Department of Industry and Trade, said the Central Highlands’ climate and soil are well suited for industrial crops such as coffee, rubber, cocoa, pepper, mulberry, and durian, with coffee considered the region’s key sector. However, the region’s export turnover remains modest, reaching around US$4.6 billion during the 2023-2024 period, accounting for less than 1% of the country’s total exports. Exports are primarily in raw form, with uneven quality, facing technical barriers, weak value chain linkages, and high dependence on fluctuations in international markets.
Trieu emphasized that the Central Highlands faces multiple challenges, including a shortage of skilled labor, weak logistics infrastructure, incomplete facilities, and loose internal regional links, which limit trade promotion and export development. Therefore, new thinking, vision, and strategies are needed to effectively exploit the region’s potential while dealing with existing limitations.
The program aims to expand export markets by connecting local Central Highlands enterprises with foreign importers, supporting B2B activities, establishing strategic partnerships, and facilitating negotiations for high-value, long-term contracts. This approach helps businesses strengthen linkages, optimize distribution, enhance operational efficiency, reduce costs, and improve resilience in an increasingly competitive market.
Trade promotion activities are combined with efforts to highlight the region’s people, land, investment potential, and tourism, contributing to attracting resources for the development of provinces and cities across the Central Highlands. The program is expected to involve more than 80 local supplier enterprises.
European firms interested in various sectors in Central Highlands
Tourism, agriculture, and renewable energy, which have high potential in the Central Highlands, are sectors that European enterprises are interested in, said Alain Cany, President of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham).
