E-Market in Vietnam

The first e-market for Viet Nam's agricultural, forestry and aquatic produce made its debut yesterday.

The site www.agromart.com.vn. hosts up to 150 businesses and is expected to help lower costs and increase efficiency, says its owner, the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry.

More than 340 products were immediately listed on the Vietnamese-English site.

Member enterprises can link their own web sites or "stalls" to the site as well as complete basic trans-actions.

Each Agromart member is also provided with an account to manage and update information about their products and services.

Deputy Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Diep Kinh Tan said: "Agromart will provide both enterprises and the public will have better access to information related to products and legal documents.

"Enterprises could also better establish and maintain contacts with customers and partners."

Agromart would also provide links with other units in the agriculture sector including the National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department (NAFIQAD) and the Plant Protection Department.

Viet Nam's agriculture had scored significant achievements despite numerous difficulties and "growth of the sector is always high," the deputy minister said.

Total exports for 2010 is expected to be worth more than US$18.6 billion, an increase of 12 per cent compared with 2009.