This year’s Vietnamese High-Quality Goods Awards were granted to 592 local businesses at a ceremony held in HCM City on Thursday.

More than 40 of the firms have been recognised for 21 consecutive years.

Most of the winners are manufacturers of sauces, spices and confectionary; non-alcoholic beverages; cosmetics and chemical cosmetics; jewellery; electrical and household machines; and dried foodstuff and instant food.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, Nguyen Thanh Phong, chairman of the city People’s Committee, said the high-quality products programme had become the city’s key trade promotion programme, with the high-quality Vietnamese logo now recognised as a prestigious label.

City authorities said that more and more local businesses are being recognised for having high-quality products, which shows their continuing efforts to improve their competitiveness in the world market.

The awards are organised by the Business Association of High-Quality Vietnamese Products each year.

At the event, the association launched a new set of quality standards based on both local quality norms and the standards adopted in developed countries for high-quality Vietnamese goods.

Vu Kim Hanh, the association’s chairwoman, called on companies to adopt new standards to safeguard consumer interests and improve competitiveness.

The awards ceremony was attended by 1,000 delegates, including State officials, leaders of cities and provinces, representatives of international organisations, and businesses. — VNS