Digital technology opens the way for high-value agricultural exports

Agricultural exports no longer rely only on a few traditional commodities, but are step by step diversifying products, expanding sectors, and moving toward high value-added segments.

In this effort, digitalizing the process of granting growing area codes not only shortens document processing time but also aims to build a transparent and modern administration, thereby improving the competitiveness and brand of Vietnamese agricultural products in export markets.

Digital management reduces intermediate waste by 15%

As an entity specializing in exporting deeply processed fruits to the European market, Le Van Quyet, Director of Long Thanh Phat High-Tech Agricultural Cooperative, says the cooperative previously managed raw material areas and origin traceability entirely with manual logbooks.

“This manual method prolonged export documentation and caused raw material loss rates of over 12% during transport."

“To maintain long-term, high-value orders, the cooperative invested in an electronic diary system and integrated QR codes for each product batch. Currently, partners in Germany can monitor in real time the amount of fertilizer, water, and harvest dates. Digitalizing the management stage has helped the cooperative cut intermediate waste by 15% while consolidating absolute trust with international customers,” Quyet says.

Digital transformation is becoming a mandatory requirement in agricultural exports, especially as many markets tighten regulations on origin traceability and growing area codes. Alongside digitalizing the traceability process, applying circular technology in processing factories is also helping many businesses reduce the carbon footprint on each exported product unit.

Recognizing the importance of information transparency, product traceability, origin, and quality management, Phan Thi Men, Director of SUTECH Company, states that digital transformation serves as the foundation to manage and operate the growing area code system effectively.

“Applying digital technology allows businesses to manage in a centralized and transparent manner. Data on growing areas, farming processes, and agricultural production history are digitalized and stored on the system, helping functional agencies, partners, customers, and buyers easily look up and verify when shipments experience violations or food safety issues,” Men shares.

Building sustainable agricultural exports through digital trust

In international agricultural trade, origin traceability has become an increasingly important requirement, especially in major markets like the European Union (EU) and China. These markets inspect final product quality while emphasizing origin traceability and production transparency.

"To increase sustainability in agricultural exports in the coming period, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is currently working closely with the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to accelerate the digitalization of growing area coding and automate Certificate of Origin (C/O) procedures."

Regarding the roadmap to support the exporting business community in digital transformation and shortening procedures, Nguyen Cam Trang, Deputy Director of the Import-Export Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), affirms that agencies are actively upgrading early-warning platforms regarding trade defence measures from major partners.

“The focus of management agencies in the coming time will be advising and working together with credit institutions to roll out preferential green credit packages. This capital source will directly support agricultural enterprises in carrying out technology innovation projects and upgrading deep-processing factories to meet international export standard sets in a timely manner,” Trang informs.

"Practical experience over many years shows that digital transformation helps expand market outlets for agricultural products while creating fundamental changes in production mindsets. When every product has its own story, clear origin, transparent data, and visual image promotion, the value of agricultural exports is measured not just by output volume, but affirmed by brand reputation and consumer trust."

According to Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Lan, Director of the Vietnam Academy of Agriculture, bringing agricultural products onto digital space is not simply opening an extra sales channel, but a process of digitalizing trust. “When the entire production process, quality standards, and product origins are made transparent on digital platforms, Vietnamese agricultural products will no longer be anonymous products in the supply chain, but will become brands with identity, capable of competing based on their own value,” Lan affirms.

Digitalizing agricultural data to easily meet export market requirements on quarantine, growing area codes, and traceability, as well as minimizing trade defence measures, increases the capability to bring Vietnamese agricultural products into major markets.

This is an urgent task requiring proper investment from each business, as well as the state’s commitment to accompany and support them in the journey to raise the status of Vietnamese produce on the world trade map.

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