High Thai demand for Vietnamese produce, food

Initial positive results

Vice President of Central Retail Vietnam Paul Le said that in mid-November 2022, 29 Top Mart supermarkets in Thailand put on sale longans from Vietnam’s Can Tho and Dong Thap provinces.

More Vietnamese goods are available on supermarket shelves in Thailand

At a food supermarket in Central World shopping center (Bangkok), Vietnamese longans were sold at 139 baht equivalent to VND96,000 per kilogram. The supermarket also carried other Vietnamese produce, such as dragon fruit and sweet potato, and packaged food brands including Mr.Viet (coffee), Vifon, Trung Nguyen, Vinamit, ChinsuFoods and Ho Tieu Viet.

The Vietnamese Goods Week in Thailand is an annual program jointly organized by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and Central Retail Vietnam. During its five-year implementation, about 500 products have been introduced to Thai consumers and connected to modern distribution channels in this market. In addition to fruit, the products include made-in-Vietnam processed food sold at more competitive prices than some Thai ones.

Thai consumers are interested in Vietnamese goods

According to Paul Le, Vietnamese suppliers have improved a lot over the past five years, for example in terms of packaging and labels.

Deepening cooperation

Paul Le also said Vietnam’s opportunity lies in Thai consumers’ growing interest in healthy products. “Last year, Thailand was Vietnam’s largest trading partner in ASEAN with a record high turnover of US$19 billion, up 18 percent compared to 2020. In November 2022, during a meeting with Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha on the occasion of President Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s visit to the country, the two sides also pledged to raise bilateral trade turnover to US$25 billion in a more balanced direction.

To realize the target, within the framework of the Vietnamese Goods Week in Thailand in November 2022, a cooperation agreement was inked for the period of 2022-2025 between the European-American Market Department and the Domestic Market Department under the MoIT and Central Retail Vietnam to help Vietnamese businesses participate in foreign distribution systems and strengthen their capacity in the distribution field in Vietnam.

Le Van Duy, Director of Delta D'Asia, said this is a trade bridge enabling Thai and international customers to consume Vietnamese products.

According to Paul Le, Vietnamese businesses must focus not only on selling raw products, but also on packaging and brand designs so that consumers around the world can read labels. He affirmed that Central Retail will help Vietnamese companies achieve optimal access to supermarkets.