Rural areas prefer domestic made

Statistics from the ministry revealed at a conference on connecting supply and demand between industrial units in rural areas and distribution system in the northern region held in Hanoi on October 1 that market share was expected to increase in the upcoming years. Consumers in the areas have shown increasing interest in domestically produced goods.

Deputy Minister Ho Thi Kim Thoa said the ministry in co-operation with localities has been actively organising trade promotion among businesses especially those in the retail and distribution sectors.

More than 40 co-operation agreements were signed for supply of goods in the central Danang City, while another 40 agreements in HCM City and several others were signed in the northern region.

For example, Big C supermarkets in the north signed agreements with Tam Hoa Co-operative in Cao Bang Province, Thien Phuc Tea Co-operative in Bac Kan Province, and Tan Cuong Hoang Binh Tea in Thai Nguyen Province.

However, Thoa said several local businesses have faced problems when bringing industrial products made in rural areas to traditional markets or supermarkets.

Some signed contracts were not implemented as producers did not meet with the requirements of the supermarkets.

"This is the reason that the conference aims to connect producers and goods in cities and provinces to the distribution system," she said.

A representative from Big C in the northern region hailed the strengths of Vietnamese goods, saying that 95% of goods at their supermarkets are domestically produced.

Big C exports 1,100 containers of local agricultural and seafood products to 20 countries in Asia and the Americas totally valued at more than US$30 million.

Ishikawa Tadahiko, Aeon's representative in Vietnam also said 90% of goods at their supermarkets had been bought from Vietnamese producers. In the upcoming time, Aeon would buy organic vegetables, seafood, frozen foods, plastics and clothing from the country's producers.

"Aeon expects to contribute to Vietnam's retail sector with help from systems in Japan such as a transport system and human resource training. It would increase the number of local suppliers if it opens new supermarkets, thus creating more jobs," he added.

Local producers and distributors have opportunities to seek partners. However, several businesses said it was hard to find partners in the local market.

Pham Hung Vu, director of Thu Nguyet Crafts and Trade Company said most of their products were only exported to Japan and the Republic of Korea. The products have not done much business in the domestic market.

"The purchasing power in the country is low as the promotion of craft products is limited. We hope that distributors will pay attention to our products to increase consumption in Vietnam." he said.