Ho Chi Minh City and its pioneering marks

The Market Stabilization Program (MOP) has been pioneered and maintained for the past 23 years, helping the City regulate market prices, helping millions of people have the opportunity to access quality goods at stable prices. Or the Bank - Enterprise Connection Program (NH-DN) helps businesses access preferential interest rate capital to promote production and business activities, contributing to the development of Ho Chi Minh City's economy ... The pioneering movement contributes to the development of the City and the whole country, helping Ho Chi Minh City maintain its position as an economic "locomotive".

Lesson 1: Improving the quality and value of Vietnamese goods: From market stabilization program to "Green Tick of Responsibility"

During the process of innovation and development up to now, after nearly 40 years, the retail trade sector has played an important role, being one of the main driving forces and pillars helping Ho Chi Minh City maintain its growth momentum for a long time.

Trade, services and retail contribute about 65% of HCMC's GRDP - Photo: VGP/Le Anh

Mr. Nguyen Anh Duc, Chairman of the Vietnam Retailers Association, said that in the overall growth structure of the economy, the retail trade sector plays an extremely important role. Currently, service trade and retail contribute about 55-60% to the country's GRDP, with Ho Chi Minh City alone accounting for over 65%.

In fact, throughout the process of innovation and development up to now, after nearly 40 years, the retail trade sector has played an important role, being one of the main driving forces and pillars helping Ho Chi Minh City maintain its growth momentum for a long time.

Although the market has had difficult times and price fluctuations, retail trade has still firmly overcome and grown faster when recovering.

Regulating stable prices creates important momentum for domestic consumption development.

To achieve this important result, the leaders of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee have directed the Department of Industry and Trade of the City (in charge) and pioneering units to implement the BOTT Program with the goal of helping to regulate stable market prices. After 23 years of development (from 2002 to present), the Program has shown that this is a correct and creative policy, helping millions of people have the opportunity to access quality goods at stable prices. Thereby contributing to curbing inflation and helping the City's consumer price index (CPI) to be consistently lower than the national average.

According to Mr. Nguyen Nguyen Phuong, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Ho Chi Minh City, from the initial goal of stabilizing short-term prices during Tet, the Program has now become a tool to regulate market prices of essential goods through regulating supply and demand of goods, minimizing administrative intervention measures on selling prices.

Mr. Nguyen Nguyen Phuong, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Ho Chi Minh City, said that the BOTT program has become a tool to regulate market prices of essential goods - Photo: VGP/Le Anh

In the initial phase, the Program only had the participation of the state economic sector, but now it has mobilized all economic sectors to join in stabilizing the market. From the main solution of goods reserve, the Program now implements long-term market stabilization, focusing on promoting domestic production in the direction of modernity and high productivity; ensuring abundant and sustainable supply.

Every year, the City widely announces, actively mobilizes, and invites businesses to participate in the Program through 3 forms: Supplying goods, distributing goods, and supporting credit to implement the program with many practical benefits. The amount of stabilized goods and essential consumption that businesses register always accounts for 21-43% of normal months and can increase more strongly during the holidays.

In particular, enterprises participating in the BOTT program have adopted practical programs such as signing development cooperation agreements between Ho Chi Minh City and provinces and cities, and conferences on "Connecting supply and demand of goods" to carry out linkage activities, cooperate in developing goods sources, especially consuming and consuming typical agricultural products in regions, OCOP products, improving product quality, and orienting output; thereby stimulating the development of production and business activities in the city as well as the whole country.

Promoting the Responsible Green Tick program – improving the quality of Vietnamese products

In parallel with maintaining and developing the BOTT Program, in order to improve the quality of input products, control the quality of input goods better and better, and enhance the value of the supply chain for Vietnamese goods, from March 2024, Ho Chi Minh City continues to pioneer the implementation of the Program "Controlling the quality of goods in Ho Chi Minh City" - abbreviated as "Green Tick of Responsibility".

Mr. Nguyen Minh Hung, Deputy Head of Trade Management Department, Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade, said that the Program aims to orient the production of safe and sustainable food through market signals (represented by retail systems) with voluntary, self-aware, proactive participation to enhance the responsibility of entities in the supply chain; thereby meeting domestic consumption requirements, aiming for export.

Goods with the "Green Responsibility Tick" are displayed at a distribution system for consumers to identify - Photo: VGP/Le Anh

After 1 year of implementation, by early April 2025, the Program has received the participation of 11 leading retail distributors in the market (accounting for about 80% of the modern retail market) including: Saigon Co.op , Satra, Aeon, Central Retail, MM Mega Market, Bach Hoa Xanh, Wincommerce, King Food Market, Lotte mart, GS25, Genshai and the active participation of more than 120 suppliers with more than 300 products supplied to distribution and retail systems.

Many suppliers commented that the Program helps to increase consumer confidence in Vietnamese products. Enterprises are also more proactive in accepting to incur some costs such as costs for monitoring growing areas, materials... to improve and complete the production model according to registered standards.

Mr. Jose Mestre, Commercial Director of Fresh Food Industry of Central Retail Vietnam Group, emphasized: "We believe that when consumers support products with the "Green Tick of Responsibility", we will have more suppliers participating in this program, contributing to building a sustainable, safe and responsible retail environment."

Ms. Vo Thi Bich Thuy, Deputy Director of Quality Management Department of Saigon Co.op - the No. 1 retail distributor in Ho Chi Minh City, said that the unit has signed contracts with more than 20 suppliers from provinces and cities such as Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong , Tay Ninh, Lam Dong, Dong Thap, Tien Giang and is mobilizing more suppliers to learn about and participate in the program. According to Saigon Co.op, before signing contracts with suppliers, the unit relied on the strengths of each locality to build raw material areas for each type of product. In the coming period, this unit will expand to many provinces and cities across the country.

Mr. Nguyen Nguyen Phuong, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Ho Chi Minh City, said: "The "Responsible Green Tick" program is important in the work of checking and controlling the quality of goods and helping to build a sustainable supply chain. The Department of Industry and Trade of Ho Chi Minh City is also coordinating with provinces and cities to expand the implementation of the program to local manufacturing and supplying enterprises. The goal is that all products circulating on the market have a "Responsible Green Tick", are controlled and guaranteed to be of the highest quality and safety.

The Department of Industry and Trade of Ho Chi Minh City will also coordinate with relevant parties to build a data system, evaluation standards and a set of criteria for all participating units. Products of units will be considered for "green tick" and receive priority support from large distribution systems; there will be a website to check products and units with "green tick".

Central Retail Vietnam Group signed a cooperation agreement for the "Responsible Green Tick" program with manufacturers in Lam Dong - Photo: VGP/Le Anh

According to experts, maintaining the BOTT Program and increasingly expanding the "Responsible Green Tick" Program, along with promoting consumer stimulus programs with promotions and deep discounts throughout the year, typically the annual "Shopping Season" Concentrated Promotion Month Program... will be an important and solid driving force for the growth of the City's trade and consumption.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Statistics Office, if in 2023, the city's total retail sales of goods and consumer services increased by 9.6% over the same period, then in 2024, the total retail sales of goods and consumer services in Ho Chi Minh City continued to grow impressively with an increase of 10.5% over the previous year.

Entering 2025, from the beginning of the year, market stabilization work continued to be widely implemented, ensuring the supply of goods for the Lunar New Year shopping season. At the same time, businesses operating in the trade and service sectors have been proactive in digital transformation, e-commerce and improving transportation services to meet market development trends.

According to the report of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, in the first quarter of 2025, total retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue is estimated at VND 316,632 billion, an increase of 14.2% over the same period.

Le Anh

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/tphcm-va-nhung-dau-an-tien-phong-102250409153103591.htm