A programme launched by HCM City has proved to be effective in promoting local-made products and supporting domestic businesses to develop brands and improve their production.

The “Supply-demand connection programme” has been implemented by HCM City authorities for six years in response to the campaign “Vietnamese use Vietnamese products” that was launched eight years ago.

According to the HCM City Department of Industry and Trade, the programme has proved a practical policy with a total of 1,761 contracts signed so far.

In 2016 alone, the programme helped the consumption of 80,000 tonnes of vai thieu (lychee) in the southern region and 10,000 pigs in HCM City, as well as assessing the quality of fishery products and assisting the Central region’s fishermen to consume seafood products.

Speaking at a conference on Saturday, deputy minister of industry and trade Hoang Quoc Vuong said that the ministry encourages local authorities to organise activities that promote domestic trade and enhance the consumption of domestic-made products so that local businesses, households and localities are able to access the market.

“One hundred per cent of products that have been exchanged through the programme are Vietnamese,” Vuong said.

“This is truly an effective promotional channel that can help Vietnamese products access both domestic and foreign markets and complies with the campaign ‘Vietnamese use Vietnamese products’,” he said.

“We have paid more attention to the quality and safety standards of the products so that they are least harmful for consumers’ health amid the mass use of toxic and chemical substances in agricultural and fishery production.”

The programme has created a supply chain that provides safe agricultural and fishery products for Vietnamese people and protects producers that meet the global Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and Viet Nam’s food safety requirements, he said, adding that this is a way that could lead to sustainable agriculture production.

“The ministry is fully supportive and willing to work with local authorities and businesses to promote products in the country and prepare for the coming Tet holidays in HCM City and other provinces and cities,” Vuong said.

The deputy minister also asked the HCM City Department of Industry and Trade and local businesses to prepare sufficient supply of products at reasonable price levels for the Tet holidays. In addition, the city needs to combine the programme with other trade promotion campaigns to expand the market and further develop local brands.

He also stressed that the local authorities must further inspect, monitor and supervise the market regarding the quality of goods and services, food safety and prices for the year-end and Tet periods.

In response, the HCM City industry and trade director Pham Thanh Kien said the city will further develop safe food supply chains, track down product origins (from production to distribution) and help localities develop their own brands and reputations so that their products are widely recognised in both domestic and overseas markets. — VNS