Vietnam's horticulture sector (including fruits, vegetables, flowers, and ornamental plants) plays a significant role in the country's agriculture. The sector has seen rapid growth in recent years due to increasing domestic demand and expanding export markets. The country currently exports a broad range of agricultural products to 182 countries all over the world. Vietnam's horticultural products have gained popularity in international markets for their freshness, and diversification of high quality. China, Korea, Japan, the USA, and Thailand remain key markets with sustained growth.
Benefits of E-Phyto
In Vietnam, agriculture shows an annual growth of 3.5% and contributes 11.9% to GDP, higher than the world average of 4.3%. The digitalization in agriculture is only at 2.1% which is at the low level of the world average and far below the target of the government of 10% by 2025. Regarding the trade of horticultural products, real-time tracking, speeding up the handling process, and minimizing errors are among the key factors to ensure the quality of products to the intended destinations.
And that is where digitalization can play a role. Today, phytosanitary certificates, which are required to accompany horticultural shipments can be both in electronic (e-Phyto) and paper form. The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) strongly supports and promotes the use of e-Phyto as a legal alternative for a phyto certificate in paper form due to the benefits of e-Phyto to governments and businesses.
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