As the Covid-19 pandemic is causing negative impacts on exports of agricultural products, Hanoi’s Department of Industry and Trade has been holding goods supply – demand matching programs to boost domestic consumption.

Hanoi promotes consumption of farm produce post Covid-19. Photo: Le Nam.

Vice Director of the municipal Department of Industry and Trade Tran Thi Phuong Lan said from May 30 – June 6, the department in collaboration with Big C supermarkets will hold Fruits – Farm Produce Week.

Lan said the event is expected to attract the participation of 17 provinces and cities, including Son La, Hai Duong, Nam Dinh, Quang Ninh, Dien Bien, or Hung Yen.

During the event, Hanoi’s consumers would have chances to buy high-quality specialties from other localities in Vietnam, while farmers could look for potential distributors, such as Big C and other retailers, to boost their sales, Lan added.

In the 2018 – 2019 period, Hanoi had signed goods supply contracts with 44 provinces and cities via these goods supply – demand matching programs, in turn helping firms insert 350 products and goods into Hanoi’s distribution network.

Lan informed thousands of tons of farm produce across the country are transported to Hanoi’s wholesale and supermarkets daily for distribution.

Vice General Director of Central Retail Group Nguyen Thi Phuong said such programs would lay a strong foundation for Vietnamese agricultural firms to reach out to international markets.

More importantly, through such programs, local firms could better understand demands of the domestic market for more efficient adjustment to production.

Vice General Director of Hanoi Trade Corporation (Hapro) Nguyen Tien Vuong said for local enterprises to expand their market shares domestically, they have to meet growing demands from customers in terms of product quality, clear origin, environmentally-friendly, and reasonable price, among others.

However, as the majority of agricultural cooperatives in Vietnam are of small scale, inconsistent product quality is quite common, not to mention unattractive packaging and labeling, among other issues which are hindering their sales and export.

To continue boosting domestic consumption of farm produce, the Hanoi People’s Committee plans to set up five to eight delegations specialized in promoting trade with other provinces and cities in the third and fourth quarters of 2020.

Meanwhile, Hanoi would continue to support other provinces and cities in holding 15 – 20 Fruits – Farm Produce Weeks in Hanoi.