Today, March 8th, the Steering Committee of the "Vietnamese People Prioritize Using Vietnamese Goods" Campaign in Ho Chi Minh City organized a conference to connect and build sustainable supply chains and improve the quality of Vietnamese goods. Mr. Nguyen Ho Hai - Standing Deputy Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee and Head of the Standing Committee of the Steering Committee of the "Vietnamese People Prioritize Using Vietnamese Goods" Campaign in Ho Chi Minh City - chaired the conference.
The arduous task of conquering the domestic market.
In recent years, Vietnamese agricultural products have successfully penetrated many major markets, including demanding ones around the world . However, safe, high-quality goods are struggling to compete with counterfeit, fake, and substandard products.
Telling the story of the cantaloupe, Ms. Huynh Thi Thu Trang, CEO of An Phat Green Agricultural Products Company, compared: Cantaloupes grown in greenhouses have strict quality control, ensuring safety, but the yield is only one-third that of cantaloupes grown in open fields with indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers.
However, the market prices of the two types of melons do not differ much. "Legitimate producers are facing difficulties as their products have to compete with low-quality goods," Ms. Trang said.
An Phat Green Agricultural Products Company is supplying several types of "clean" fruits to supermarket chains and food stores in the South and for export. In the domestic market, the company has spent considerable time building its brand.
"It takes five years for clean, high-quality papayas, priced higher than other varieties, to be accepted by the market. Papayas grown naturally, without chemical fertilizers or pesticides, are often susceptible to fungal infections, have unattractive skins, and develop spots when ripe. In the first three years, customers are unfamiliar with the product, so a lot of it is discarded," Ms. Trang said.
Ho Chi Minh City will strengthen measures to control food quality.
Similarly, Dong Xanh Farm Co., Ltd. is facing difficulties in the domestic market despite successfully exporting to demanding markets like Japan and Europe. Ms. Huynh Ngoc Bich Dao, the company's general director, stated that the company produces according to GlobalGAP standards but sells at prices not significantly different from the general market price, allowing consumers to access high-quality products. With several dozen hectares dedicated to growing leafy vegetables, root vegetables, and fruits, the company initially had to sell and give away products to gain consumer familiarity.
Mr. Bui Trung Kien, Director of Xuan Thai Thinh Co., Ltd., also expressed concerns about the market for his products in Vietnam, despite having successfully exported to demanding markets such as Japan and Europe.
Working together to improve the quality of Vietnamese products.
According to statistics, Vietnamese goods currently account for 90% - 95% of the total products in supermarket chains belonging to Saigon Co.op , Satra, Bach Hoa Xanh, etc. This rate is 80% - 90% in some supermarket chains of foreign retailers such as AEON, Central Retail, Mega Market, etc. In markets and convenience stores, the proportion of Vietnamese goods is also 80% or higher.
Despite its overwhelming proportion, according to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade, the trade of Vietnamese goods in the market still faces many challenges. Although functional agencies have strengthened coordination in inspection and supervision, counterfeit, fake, and substandard goods still circulate in the market, especially on e-commerce channels. In addition, there is a situation where manufacturers intentionally reduce quality to compete on price...
Having supplied safe vegetables and fruits to the Ho Chi Minh City market for many years, Mr. Nguyen Hong Phong, Director of Phong Thuy Agricultural Products Production and Trading Company Limited, pointed out that the more substandard and counterfeit products appear on the market, the more difficult it becomes for legitimate producers. The burden of quality control weighs heavily on every stage of the entire production-distribution-consumption system and poses significant challenges for businesses aiming to create high-quality products.
According to businesses, better control is needed to create room for good manufacturers and encourage new manufacturers to invest in producing high-quality products. When legitimate manufacturers build a solid market share and consumers become familiar with quality products, substandard products will gradually be eliminated.
From a state management perspective, Mr. Nguyen Nguyen Phuong, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade, said that the city plans to connect manufacturers with distributors, creating a common platform for distributors to work together to say no to unsafe products, thereby eliminating such products.
The Department of Industry and Trade is working with retail businesses to implement a program to jointly control the quality of Vietnamese goods according to common standards of retailers, under the guidance of the Department of Industry and Trade, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the Department of Food Safety of Ho Chi Minh City.
The general principle is that supplier information and product quality inspection results will be shared among participating distribution systems. Products that violate quality commitments or fail to meet food safety and hygiene standards will be re-evaluated by all participating distribution systems, risking complete market loss.
Integrating quality control is fundamental to building a sustainable supply chain, acting as a leverage to maintain the growth of Vietnamese trade both domestically and internationally, and helping the market become resilient against substandard, counterfeit, and fake goods.
"With a sustainable supply chain, manufacturers can focus solely on improving product quality and innovation to maintain consumer trust, without having to compete on price," Mr. Nguyen Nguyen Phuong commented.
Six retailers joined the affiliate program.
According to the plan, in the program to jointly control the quality of Vietnamese goods, six major retailers – the Ho Chi Minh City Commercial Cooperative Union, Saigon Trading Corporation - Limited Liability Company, Central Retail Vietnam Group, MM Mega Market Vietnam Limited Liability Company, AEON Vietnam Limited Liability Company, and Bach Hoa Xanh Trading Joint Stock Company – will cooperate to protect consumer interests and enhance the quality control capabilities of each distribution system. These systems will also work together to prevent unsafe food from entering distribution networks in Ho Chi Minh City.
Initially, the program will be piloted for a number of products belonging to three groups: fruits, vegetables, and meat.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/chuoi-cung-ung-ben-vung-cho-hang-viet-196240307202733325.htm
