The government needs to invest more in inland transportation infrastructure connecting material areas in the Mekong Delta so that farmers and cooperatives can transport better-quality farm produce to import markets, a forum on developing green logistics towards sustainability for agricultural and pharmaceutical products on November 17 heard.

It is also necessary to plan and build logistics centers for farm produce, including cold storage facilities for sorting, preservation, and preliminary processing, to improve quality and stabilize prices, industry insiders said.

Investment must be strengthened in logistics infrastructure for agricultural goods, especially in concentrated and key agricultural production areas, and it is necessary to connect waterways, roads, and railways to leverage the overall strength of the domestic logistics network.

According to Ms. Cherie Anne, Development Counsellor at the Australian Embassy in Vietnam, agriculture and pharmaceuticals are areas where Australia is interested in promoting its cooperation with Vietnam, in which logistics plays a key role in forming an export-import supply chain. And green logistics is regarded a future trend, demonstrating the responsibility of businesses and enhancing their competitiveness.

Associate Professor Ho Thi Thu Hoa, Director of the Vietnam Logistics Research and Development Institute, said fruit such as mangos, dragon fruit, and longans have gained a firm foothold in the Australian market. In 2022 alone, a large volume of agricultural products, including rice, pepper, coffee and cashew nuts, were exported to the country, with average annual export growth reaching 6.8 per cent.