In recent years, Bac Giang province has issued and implemented many policies to support the collective economic sector, especially in promoting trade and forming linkages for selling products for cooperatives.

Since the beginning of this year, the provincial Department of Industry and Trade has supported the organisation of eight booths by businesses and cooperatives at the China-ASEAN Expo and the Vietnam-China border tourism festival in Guangxi province (China).

It has created QR codes (in both Vietnamese and English) for 56 products and issued 1,000 Vietnamese-Chinese handbooks introducing the key products, characteristics and potential of the province.

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has supported many cooperatives to display and introduce hundreds of products at fairs inside and outside the province. Localities have also actively implemented their collective economic development plans for 2024.

Lang Giang district has allocated more than 2 billion VND (79,490 USD) to organize trade fairs and exhibitions to introduce products to businesses and collective economic organizations in the locality.

Viet Yen township has supported more than 1.7 billion VND to help cooperatives with design, label printing, packaging, and obtaining VietGAP certificates.

With its role and responsibility, in recent times, the provincial Cooperative Alliance has had many forms of support to help cooperatives promote and introduce products.

This year, for the first time, it has organized a Tet (Lunar New Year) market for cooperatives in Bac Giang city; coordinated to hold offline and online trade promotion conferences with the Cooperative Alliances of An Giang and Ha Tinh provinces; and accompanied cooperatives in introducing and selling products at highway rest stops in Hai Phong city.

At conferences and trade fairs, booths showcasing Bac Giang province’s products have always attracted a large number of visitors.

The Quang Duy Agricultural Cooperative in Dong Lac commune, Yen The district, specializing in producing and selling vegetable oils from peanut, gac (sweet gourd) and black sesame, is one of many cooperatives that benefit from trade promotion support policies.

Nguyen Van Thang, Director of the cooperative, shared: "Each year, the cooperative participates in 5-7 trade fairs, and thanks to that, we have more agents to sell products in Hanoi, Thanh Hoa and Can Tho. This year, the cooperative has registered for three products to be recognised as OCOP (One Commune Once Product) items; and expanded the peanut area by 20 hectares, thus increasing the total raw material area for vegetable oil production to 50 hectares.

The cooperative has invested in machinery to complete the production line, applied digital technology in production and business, he said.

Other cooperatives such as Hong Xuan Agriculture Production and General Services and Luc Ngan Green in Luc Ngan district; Thien Tam Herbal Medicine, Yen The Green Agriculture and Hang Anh in Yen The district; Hung Phu and Quyen Phong Agriculture in Tan Yen district have also found many opportunities for cooperation in product development, affirming their position in the market through the trade promotion channel.

Pham Cong Toan, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade, informed that in the coming time, the department will coordinate closely with relevant departments and agencies, the provincial Cooperative Alliance, the People's Committees of districts, townships and Bac Giang city to promote trade exchange activities, connect supply and demand, and invite businesses to invest in the agricultural sector.

It will pay attention to training business skills on digital platforms; effectively implement trade promotion programmes, digital transformation, industrial promotion and energy saving to create conditions for cooperatives’ stable and effective production.

Mac Yen