A booth displaying handicrafts from Phu Yen Province on the sidelines of the suppliers-buyers conference in HCM City and 45 cities and provinces being held in HCM City from September 26 to 29. — VNS Photo Xuan Huong

A conference to link buyers and sellers of goods in HCM City and 45 other cities and provinces opened on Thursday in the city.

The four-day event has attracted 1,458 suppliers and 883 purchasing businesses, including modern retailers, export companies, restaurants, hotels, businesses that supply meals to industrial parks and businesses, and collective kitchens.

Nguyen Huynh Trang, deputy director of the city Department of Industry and Trade, said at this year's conference sourcing firms and consumers in the city discovered nearly 2,000 items such as agricultural products, local specialties in various places, fruits and vegetables, handicrafts, and consumer products that 558 businesses showcased in 449 booths.

This year her department has invited some foreign buyers and local export firms to take part to promote exports of products to markets like Thailand and Australia, she said.

“By organising the conference ... we want to enhance awareness of producers about putting product quality on top. At the same time, we want to underline the responsibility of the hotel and restaurant serving food and drinks to customers in ensuring the best source of raw materials.”

Le Thanh Liem, vice chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee, said the conference is an important trade promotion event, which would help expand the market for domestically produced goods.

Nguyen Huu Lap, vice chairman of the Ben Tre Province People’s Committee, said the conference has in the past significantly helped promote the consumption of his province’s products, enabling businesses to expand production and trading and contributing to socio-economic development.

“I hope the Ministry of Industry and Trade, HCM City and businesses will continue to provide producers in the province with market information and standards and requirements for goods, help connect them with distributors and create favourable conditions for the province’s goods to enter the city’s modern distribution network.”

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai hailed the conference as a channel to promote and expand markets for Vietnamese goods nation-wide and connect with export channels.

More than 380 memorandums of understanding on goods supply and distribution were signed yesterday.

The department expects more than 500 to be signed at the event.

Held since 2012, the programme has enabled more and more products to enter the city’s distribution systems. — VNS