Govt promotes adding value to products
Govt promotes adding value to products
The Lao government has established a policy of promoting the production of commercial goods based on the potential of each local community in the country, so a value chain development is also essential, a senior official has said.
Deputy Director General of the Small and Medium Enterprise Promotion Department under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Mr Sa Siriphong, spoke to Vientiane Times yesterday after a meeting of government officials and other representative organisations who gathered to share experiences on value chain development.
“Value chains are used for the development of value additions to products,” he said, saying that the development starts from the initial product processing.
A consultancy meeting of the Value Chain Development Working Group took place in Vientiane yesterday, allowing participants to share their experiences, difficulties and challenges faced on the value chain development of each product.
Representatives of line sectors and government bodies also discussed creating a solid database for promoting the value chain development of products in Laos. This development would focus on adding to a product's value, which is especially applicable to agricultural produce.
The linkage in a chain of development may cover the production process, purchasing, packaging, vending and consumption.
Mr Sa went on to say that the presence of the agricultural and industrial officials at the consultancy meeting was fortunate because they were directly related to all of these sectors.
“There are many steps in the value chain development of any product,” he said.
Requirements for collaboration between the public and private sectors are critically important to help the move towards working closer together.
The use of tools in value chain development can also be beneficial for the development of small and medium enterprises in Laos.
“If we look at the connections in value chain development, each sector is involved to some degree in the process. For example, the cultivation of coffee is initially related to the agricultural sector but the processing of the coffee beans will be related to the industry sector. This is a connectivity in value chain development,” Mr Sa said.
vientiane times
