A representative from Metro Cash and Carry told Viet Nam News that the locally made goods are of good quality and sell for reasonable prices.— File Photo

HCM CITY (Biz Hub)— Nearly 90 per cent of products sold at local and foreign-owned supermarkets as well as traditional markets in HCM City are now locally made, according to industry experts.

Nearly four years since the launch of the "Vietnamese people use Vietnamese products" programme, locally made goods have dominated distribution channels.

A representative from Metro Cash and Carry told Viet Nam News that the locally made goods are of good quality and sell for reasonable prices.

At Vinatexmart, for example, all products are made in Viet Nam.

Other supermarkets such as Co-op Mart and Big C said that 80-90 per cent of their products were locally made.

Apart from modern distribution systems, traditional markets have also given priority to locally made products. Such goods are sold at markets in the inner city or suburbs as well as areas near industrial zones.

For the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, domestic companies are preparing products to meet consumer demand,

Le Ngoc Dao, deputy director of the city's Department of Industry and Trade, was quoted as saying in Hai Quan (Customs) newspaper that the preparation for Tet 2014 had been completed.

Most of the products were Vietnamese-made, and supermarkets and big traditional markets in the city this year had given priority to these products, she said.

A representative from Big C said products made in Viet Nam were more competitive in terms of prices and also satisfied consumers' demand for quality and and design.

To further boost competitiveness, traders said companies should invest more to improve quality and provide more information about the quality of their products.

Bui Thi Hanh Thu, deputy director of Sai Gon Co-op, told the Customs newspaper that most Vietnamese-made products were food and foodstuff. Other products such as electronics took up a much smaller share of locally made goods.

Domestic manufacturers, she said, need help from ministries and sectors to catch up with foreign producers.

HCM City targets that by 2015 about 80 per cent of local people will use Vietnamese-made goods, and that more than 900 wards will have stalls selling price-stabilised products. — VNS