An e-Trade platform for Ngọc Linh ginseng, medicinal herb and farm produce of Nam Trà My district is officially launched. The district is the first to promote ginseng sales by e-commerce. — VNS Photo Công Thành

An e-commerce platform for Ngọc Linh ginseng (Panax vietnamensis, or Vietnamese ginseng) medicinal herb and farm produce of Nam Trà My has been launched by the mountainous district committee, promoting the national brand and applying online trading and social network business models.

Vice chairman of Nam Trà My district’s people’s committee, Trần Văn Mẫn said three domain names: phienchosam.quangnam.gov.vn; phienchosam.vn; and phienchosam.com.vn are the only recognised sites to conduct electronic transactions of the district’s ginseng, herbs and farm produce.

Mẫn said the introduction of the e-commerce platform would help local farmers and businesses build up trust, while introducing genuine Nam Trà My-grown products to customers nationwide.

He said the e-trade transaction site will serve users seeking the best ginseng and herbs, as well as heathy farm produce developed by ethnic communities in the district, some 1,500m above sea level.

Mẫn said it will help customers find genuine products and avoid fake ginseng and herbs sold through unofficial ads on social networks.

Social network platforms: Facebook, TikTok and Zalo have been used by local farmers and traders in exchanging local root products nationwide, he added.

Nam Trà My, one of the six mountainous districts in Quảng Nam Province, hosts a Ginseng Fair the first day every month, building trade links among local farmers and businesses.

Roots of Ngọc Linh ginseng collected at a farm in Nam Trà My district. The site has been developing its ginseng brand in Quảng Nam Province. — VNS Photo Công Thành

According to a report from the district’s committee, about three million ginseng plants have been grown on 810ha.

The original Ngọc Linh ginseng’s price is more than VNĐ300 million (US$12,500) per kilo, but ‘fake’ Ngọc Linh ginseng is offered for only a few million đồng per kilo, according to the General Department of Market Management of the Ministry of Industry and Trade

The mountainous district, 90km southwest of Tam Kỳ City, is home to 10,000 people belonging to the Ca Dong, Xê Đăng and Mơ Nông ethnic minority group

The precious Ngọc Linh ginseng grows strongly and sustainably in the primary forest.

Sâm Sâm company in the province is the first business developing a Ngọc Linh ginseng production plant – a major hi-tech processing factory combined with a seed and research centre – to build a source of high-quality ginseng seeds and saplings.

It said 500,000 mature Ngọc Linh ginseng plants have been planted on a 200ha farm on Trà Linh mountainous village.

The Sâm Sâm company’s sustainable ginseng farm is listed as one of eight Asian projects jointly assessed and financially supported by World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF) and Dutch Fund for Climate and Development (DFCD).

The ginseng brand can be processed into finished capsules, foods, essential oils, cosmetics, drinks and tea, creating high value for Quảng Nam, while benefitting ethnic communities of Xơ Đăng, Ca Dong, Mơ Nông, as well as promoting primary forest conservation. — VNS