New programs target link between farm goods producers, consumers

Supply-demand connection

On March 2 and 3, 2022, the Dong Thap Province Department of Industry and Trade held a conference to connect the WinCommerce General Commercial Services Joint Stock Company (WCM) with local firms, cooperatives and production facilities. The event attracted nearly 100 local producers who brought with them diverse specialties such as fruits, rice, eggs, and fish.

Department Director Nguyen Huu Dung said a number of local products are already being distributed through commercial centers, supermarkets, and convenience stores to serve the domestic market. Seven provincial enterprises sell their goods via the WinCommerce distribution channel and after the event, WCM signed a memorandum of understanding on product consumption with nine additional enterprises, cooperatives and production households.

WCM is a retailer with nearly 2,800 supermarkets and WinMart/WinMart+ stores in 63 provinces and cities across the country, where Vietnamese goods account for over 90 percent but only for 30 percent of agricultural goods.

In another development, about 100 Vietnamese suppliers participated in a seminar on connecting Vietnamese goods to the Lotte Mart supermarket system, which took place in early March 2022.

Lotte Mart's purchasing director for dry food, Nguyen Ngo Anh Tuan, said the company’s 14 supermarkets in different parts of Vietnam serve more than 20 million visitors per year with more than 30,000 diversified products. Currently, more than 80 percent of products on its shelves are produced domestically.

Supporting consumption of Vietnamese goods

According to Le Viet Nga, Deputy Director of the Domestic Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), in order to promote consumption, especially of high-quality agricultural products, the MoIT is coordinating with a number of localities to organize programs in association with tourism development, focusing on agricultural products, fine arts, and Vietnamese specialties.

Vietnamese goods dominate supermarket shelves

These events connecting supply and demand are expected to be an effective bridge and important trade promotion channel for manufacturers and suppliers. They are aimed at developing a stable and sustainable market for local products, helping businesses recover production and business activities, and creating competitive advantages in domestic and international markets.

In the first months of the year, the MoIT will promote cooperation with Lam Dong Province, Ho Chi Minh City, and Hanoi to launch the campaign. The Domestic Market Department will then connect with localities to organize more dialogues and conferences between agricultural product processing and production enterprises and major consumers in order to come up with the best and fastest mechanisms to boost consumption of Vietnamese goods and further develop Vietnamese brands, said Nga.