Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who is in Singapore at the head of a high-ranking delegation to attend the 33rd ASEAN Summit and related meetings, and Singapore’s Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong inaugurated the Vietnam Fair on Tuesday.

Organised at FairPrice Xtra at Sport Hub by NTUC FairPrice Co-operative Ltd, in collaboration with Saigon Co.op, its Vietnamese counterpart and with the support of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the HCM City People’s Committee, the fair has the theme “Enjoying the Vivid Flavours of Viet Nam”.

To be held at all FairPrice stores island-wide until November 26, the fair features more than 700 Vietnamese products, many new to the Singaporean market such as organic seafood and milk, along with favourites like Vietnamese coffee and fish sauce, all at discounts of up to 45 per cent.

Seah Kian Peng, CEO of NTUC FairPrice, said: “We are honoured to host this year’s Vietnam Fair, where we showcase the best of what Viet Nam has to offer, as we cater to the increasing popularity and demand for Vietnamese products by our customers.”

This year’s fair is particularly significant as Viet Nam and Singapore celebrate 45 years of ties and mark five years of the partnership between NTUC FairPrice and Saigon Co.op and their joint venture Co.opXtra Plus in HCM City, he said.

“This partnership has enabled FairPrice to widen our sources of supply and benefit consumers in Singapore with a wide range of Vietnamese products at lower prices due to economics of scale.

“Similarity, consumers in Viet Nam also have access to more varieties of products at affordable prices. Products from Viet Nam enjoy popularity in Singapore, where demand has increased 76 per cent between 2010 and 2017.”

They include rice, which now makes up 23 per cent of all rice sold at FairPrice, laundry detergent and frozen seafood (both 11 per cent), he said.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh hailed the co-operation between producers and distributors in the two countries, especially Saigon Co.op and NTUC FairPrice. It is an important channel for introducing Vietnamese agricultural and food products to Singaporean consumers, he said.

With the support of the Singaporean retailer, Vietnamese products could increase their popularity in the market, he said.

Seah said: “To taste the delectable Vietnamese products, we have a master chef from Viet Nam here today to showcase authentic Vietnamese cuisine for us to sample.”

Nguyen Anh Duc, deputy general director of Saigon Co.op, said the fair had been organised annually since 2014, with this year’s being the biggest and longest. More than 100 containers were shipped to Singapore for it, he revealed.

Saigon Co.op exports 200 containers of goods, including seafood, agricultural products and processed food, annually to Singapore. NTUC FairPrice Co-operative Ltd, Singapore’s largest retailer, serves over half a million shoppers daily through its network of over 300 outlets. — VNS