After two years in the work, a new e-commerce platform for Lao agriculture products has finally been launched to promote both domestic trade and across borders.
The platform features two versions, serving two different purposes including the domestic platform and.as the cross-border platform. Both sites are under the support of the Chinese government and implementation of the Trade Promotion and Handicrafts Department of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of Laos.
The launch ceremony officially kicked off on 13 May at the Don Chan Palace Hotel. According to the Chinese Charge d’ Affaires Wang Chang, building e-commerce in Laos falls into one of the eight major projects of the Chinese government’s support towards their Lao counterpart. While the project would contribute to Laos’s development and generate income for its citizens, it would also enhance the digital trade relationship between Laos and China by promoting the export of Lao agricultural products and industrial handicrafts to China.
Director General of the Trade Promotion and Handicrafts Department, Vithoun Sitthimorada added that the website will prove greatly beneficial to the Lao government employees, producers and representatives of business units in more ways than one. The platform is capable of providing technical support for e-commerce system administration, establishing a development model for e-commerce to reach rural areas to link information to produce results, achieving online buying and selling between producers and consumers, and encouraging the export of products abroad.
Lao state media suggested this achievement as a significant national milestone for Laos.The project promises the promotion of production as a commodity, the stimulation of trade and investment, the creation of job opportunities, the establishment of connections between producers and consumers both domestically and internationally, and the encouragement of a shift from traditional production patterns to new ones.
The past two years of e-commerce in Laos have mostly seen locals ordering online from neighboring countries, including Thailand, China, and Vietnam. This trend is often attributed to the lack of e-commerce platforms in Laos and the customers’ demands for a broader variety of products compared to what’s available within Laos.
As e-commerce slowly but surely grows, it is evident that Laos is moving towards a digital era with aims to meet the growing demand of people from all sorts of different sectors, ultimately revolutionizing the world of trade and sales of the country.
