HCMC builds sustainable supply chains for Vietnamese goods

Saigon Co.op signs memorandums of understanding on cooperation with six partners

Building business and consumer culture

On March 8, the Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) Steering Committee for the Buy Vietnamese Goods campaign organized a conference on building sustainable supply chains to enhance the quality of Vietnamese goods.

Tran Kim Yen, Chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and Deputy Head of the Standing Committee of the campaign’s Steering Committee, stated that during the first two months of 2024, the city’s economy continued its recovery momentum with promising signs. The production index of the entire industrial sector increased by 4.3 percent; the export value grew by 11.6 percent; the total state budget revenue rose by 13.7 percent, and the total retail sales of goods and services increased by 14.8 percent. The Buy Vietnamese Goods campaign continues to aim for a shift in awareness and behavior towards prioritizing the use of Vietnamese products. It has leveraged the role of Vietnamese businesses, ignited a sense of national pride and self-esteem among the Vietnamese people, and contributed to building Vietnamese production, business, and consumer culture.

“The campaign has been linked to many socioeconomic development programs of the city, creating significant effects, enhancing the competitiveness of Vietnamese goods and contributing to the overall development of the city’s economy,” Yen affirmed.

Yen said that currently, many businesses only sell products that they and their relatives are willing to use. Many distribution systems consider quality control and ensuring product quality as crucial factors for survival.

This is a necessary condition for the campaign’s Steering Committee to establish the Quality Control Cooperation Program. The program aims to connect distribution systems for voluntary cooperation in quality control of goods to build a code of conduct and take actions to reject suppliers which violate quality standards.

According to Nguyen Nguyen Phuong, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade, while Vietnamese products of good quality are exported to many countries, many individuals and organizations still produce low-quality goods.

Phuong believes that strict sanctions are necessary to enhance the accountability of suppliers. Agreements and commitments among suppliers will initially ensure transparency in the production of goods and gradually expand the model.

Tran Kim Yen, Chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and Deputy Head of the Standing Committee of the Buy Vietnamese Goods campaign’s Steering Committee (second left), visits an exhibition booth on the sidelines of the conference

Seeking new ways

Nguyen Ho Hai, Deputy Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee and Head of the Steering Committee for the Buy Vietnamese Goods campaign, said that the campaign has been implemented in HCMC since 2009. Throughout each specific phase, the city’s steering committee has adjusted, supplemented, and improved the contents to make the campaign increasingly aligned with reality for positive results.

Recent survey data show that the rate of people using Vietnamese goods has increased significantly, from 72.66 percent in 2018 to 85.06 percent in 2022. Vietnamese goods account for over 80 percent of products on shelves of domestic and foreign-owned supermarket chains, as well as other distribution channels such as markets and convenience stores.

During the conference, various entities signed agreements in the framework of Ho Chi Minh City’s Quality Control Cooperation Program. These included an agreement among the six leading distribution systems of Saigon Co.op, Satra, AEON, Central Retail, MM Mega Market, and Bach Hoa Xanh; product procurement contracts with suppliers which are pioneers in participating in the Quality Control Cooperation Program; and a cooperation agreement between the city’s Department of Industry and Trade and the Department of Information and Communications on developing e-commerce and supporting Vietnamese businesses in online sales.