Campaign “rescues” ripe bananas

Big C has played a role in “rescuing” Dong Nai’s bananas

At the end of February farmers in Dong Nai Province were exceedingly worried after being forced to throw out several tonnes of ripe bananas or give them away as cattle feed. The wholesale price of bananas dropped sharply - from VND14,000 per kilo in previous years to VND1-2,000 this season. The reason: China stopped buying Vietnamese bananas after its own crops recovered.

To “rescue” the bananas, Big C has bought them at VND5,900 per kilo for non-profitable sales at their shopping centers since March 1. Big C has also helped farmers pack the products and transported them for free. They have also called on customers to buy Dong Nai’s bananas.

Two weeks later, more than 70 tonnes of bananas were sold at 15 Big C supermarkets nationwide. It is expected that another 30 tonnes will be sold until the end of the season.

Similar developments occurred in previous years with other kinds of fruit, such as litchis, water melons and red onions. The link between producers and sellers has helped sell inventories.

According to Le Viet Nga, the Deputy Head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Domestic Market Department, ministerial officials have prioritized their funds, workforce and time for connecting producers and sellers, particular in terms of agricultural produce. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has organized many supply-demand conferences where farmers and farm produce processing associations have concluded more than 3,000 sales contracts worth over VND30 trillion since 2013.

A number of foreign investors, including Aeon, Lotte and Big C, have joined the distribution network in Vietnam to buy and export farm produce worth almost US$300 million.

The domestic Saigon Co.op and Vinmart shopping systems are considered the “midwives” of Vietnamese goods, particularly farm products, since they have created safe agricultural supply chains to benefit both farmers and consumers.

To achieve better results, the Ministry of Industry and Trade plans to link farmers with 8,660 traditional markets in the near future. After that, business associations and retailers should become active in connecting with farmers to create a stable market for Vietnamese goods in general, and farm produce in particular. n