Nationwide demand-supply conferences yield effective results

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 Manufacturers have found stable output, while consumers have been able to buy quality goods with clear origin as a result of demand-supply connection between cities and provinces throughout the country.

Market access

Le Viet Nga, deputy director of the Domestic Market Department, said the Ministry of Industry and Trade has cooperated with localities and associations to organize demand-supply connection conferences throughout the country in eight years of implementing the Buy Vietnamese Goods campaign, opening up opportunities for the consumption of goods.

Since the beginning of the year, the Hanoi Promotion Agency (HPA) has held three conferences connecting supply and demand, and signed memorandums of understanding with the city of Da Nang and provinces of Lam Dong and Son La. These conferences have contributed to supporting businesses sell their goods.

In 2016, Hanoi held demand-supply connection conferences with 30 provinces and cities across the country, in which 400 Hanoi businesses signed 350 memorandums of understanding and economic contracts to bring provincial products to Hanoi. The agreements helped these provinces access markets for agricultural products, such as Hai Duong and Bac Giang litchi, Soc Trang onion, Hung Yen longan and Quang Nam watermelon. Hanoi is expected to consume agricultural products from provinces valued at more than VND17 trillion this year, while provinces will consume products from Hanoi with a value of over VND6.5 trillion.

The Hung Yen Province People’s Committee has implemented many trade promotion programs and demand-supply connection conferences with provinces and cities throughout the country. It participated in the food fair and international agriculture trade fair Agroviet, as well as in a Ho Chi Minh City conference on demand-supply connection. Along with trade promotion activities, the province has also supported and successfully developed connection models in the production and supply of safe food chains. Many products considered as specialties of Hung Yen and other localities have been widely advertised, gradually entering modern distribution channels.

Increased sales

A trade cooperation program between Ho Chi Minh City and 20 southern provinces has significantly contributed to improving product quality, meeting consumer demand and promoting socio-economic development. In five years from 2012 to 2016, as many as 1,349 contracts worth more than VND22 trillion were signed between city businesses and companies in the southern region. The program helped small production units improve their technologies, enabling more and more products to enter modern distribution systems in Ho Chi Minh City. For example, An Giang Province’s Tu Son Supermarket has signed contracts with businesses in Ho Chi Minh City, and has seen an increase in sales from VND87 billion in 2013 to more than VND200 billion in 2016. Promoting the effectiveness of the program, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade plans to organize a demand-supply connection conference with various provinces, scheduled to take place in November.

Demand-supply connection conferences have proven efficient. Nguyen Tien Hung, director of the BigGreen Clean Food Company, said 70-80 percent of the company’s safe fruit come from Hanoi. Demand-supply connection conferences are an important element in improving the economic efficiency of manufacturers.

Economist Vu Vinh Phu noted that the connection between manufacturers and distributors is ineffective, resulting in high prices for consumers. Stable underwriting contracts, which closely link steps from production to consumption, are needed to reduce product prices, he said.

Provinces and cities should be active in developing demand-supply connection conferences and promoting their specialties in other provinces. In particular, Hanoi’s businesses need to continue investing and developing their distribution networks in accordance with the wholesale and retail network master plan of the city. In addition, Hanoi should boost product consumption of other provinces through business distribution channels, to help meet consumer demand and create steady streams of revenue for producers.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade will continue to coordinate with localities in implementing demand-supply connection conferences and seek additional avenues for placing more Vietnamese goods in distribution channels.

Lan Phuong

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