High quality but lacking a story
Longans, like many other agricultural products in Vietnam, are of excellent quality, yet exporting remains challenging due to the lack of a compelling story to tell customers about safety, sustainability, traceability — and also due to logistics issues.
A representative from Central Retail, a major buyer, shared the story of the longan as an example. Meanwhile, other delegates also offered different perspectives at the seminar “Bringing Vietnamese agricultural and processed food products into foreign distribution systems”, held in Ho Chi Minh City on September 14.
High quality, but no story
Mr. Paul Lê, Vice President of Central Retail Vietnam, noted that Vietnam has moved beyond the stage of exporting raw products — the quality of Vietnamese agricultural goods today is very high. For example, Thai longan varieties grown in Đồng Tháp province are even tastier than those grown in Thailand. That is why, in recent times, Central Retail has partnered with suppliers to introduce Vietnamese longans into supermarkets in Thailand. Next, the group will work with suppliers and local farmers to bring lychees into this market.
“But to succeed, we need to work together to build a story for the product — something we can tell customers. Nowadays, people rarely choose a product just for its inherent quality,” Mr. Paul Lê said.
