Hanoi (VNA) ꦚ– The capital city of Hanoi has defined the development of processing industry as an optimal solution to improve the value of local farm produce and ensure supply of the products to the domestic market as well as for export.

In order to implement the solution, the agricultural sector has focused on promoting the application of high technology in all production activities, while developing material growing areas and forming closed production chains, thus enhancing the locality’s capacity in farm produce processing. Nguyen Thi Thu Huong, General Director of Huong Son Food JSC in Thanh Tri district said that food and foodstuff products usually have short preservation time, therefore, processing is the best way to deal with this problem. Furthermore, processed products have higher economic values, up to two - three times than raw products, she added. Meanwhile Dao Thi Luong, Director of Tam Anh safe vegetable production and trading cooperative in Phu Xuyen district, said that amid impacts of COVID-19, the cooperative has made strong investment in processing, and connected with 30 other cooperatives to produce food and vegetable products. It has also applied the model of “mobile food market” to supply agricultural products to consumers in apartment buildings and urban residential areas. According to Vice Director of the city Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Ngoc Son, processing industry is an important link of the production-processing-selling chain of agricultural products. In recent years, Hanoi’s farm produce processing industry has seen remarkable progress, he said, adding that many firms have invested billions of VND in the building of factories, cold storage facilities, and warehouses, thus continuing to raising the value of farm produce and creating jobs for thousands of labourers. Currently, Hanoi has more than 400 agro-forestry-fisheries processing facilities, of which 235 are companies and the rest are cooperatives and households. The facilities mostly engage in processing meat (42.6 percent), aquatic products (26.7 percent), and vegetables and fruits (33.7 percent). Director of the Agro Processing and Market Development Authority - Agrotrade under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Quoc Toan said that the number of farm produce processing facilities of Hanoi has been modest compared to its advantages as a big market with favourable conditions in connectivity and good transport and warehouse system,. Chairwoman of the Association of Vietnam Retailers (AVR) Vu Thi Hau also shared the view that in the current context of COVID-19 pandemic, it is crucial to boost the growth of processing industry in order to build a modern and digital agriculture. Over the years, the majority of agricultural products sold on e-commerce platforms have been high quality processed products with known trademarks. Regarding solutions to further enhance the processing capacity of Hanoi, Director of the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Chu Phu My said that in the time to come, the department will give advice to the city in restructuring the farm produce processing sector in combination with the development of concentrated material regions. My advised businesses to foster connectivity in the production-processing-selling chain to improve the capacity of supplying materials for processing activities. Hanoi’s agriculture is projected to grow at least 3 percent in 2021 under a recently-issued plan on agriculture and rural development in the year. The sector targets 89,500 ha of rice, 1.8 million pigs, and 38 million poultry heads this year. The Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has issued a list of 11 projects that it is inviting investment for between now and 2025. They include hi-tech agriculture projects in An Thuong and Song Phuong communes of Hoai Duc district, and Hien Ninh, Thanh Xuan and Tan Dan communes of Soc Son district./.