The campaign “Vietnamese people use Vietnamese goods” has received a
warm response from local enterprises and consumers since its launch by
the Party’s Political Bureau in 2009.

Ninety
percent of consumers in Ho Chi Minh City and 83 percent of Hanoians
surveyed so far this year said they will use more Vietnamese goods.

Confidence in locally-made commodities has grown
thanks to hundreds of trade fairs bringing Vietnamese goods to rural
areas, and a scheme showcasing high-quality Vietnamese products across
the country’s provinces.

Vu Kim Hanh, General
Director of the Business Research Centre and Business Support Agency
(BSA), said that the campaign has brought practical benefits for
domestic businesspeople.

There are greater
opportunities to promote their strengths in marketing strategies, market
expansion, production line modernisation, and creation of new and
premium products at a competitive price, meeting domestic demand and
well suited for export.

She added that the campaign
has left a strong impression on the public, changing people’s shopping
habits and stimulating interest in domestic brand names.

Vietnamese products occupy up to 90 percent of space at big shopping
malls, like Co.op Mart, Maximark, Citimart and foreign-invested
supermarkets as Lotte Mart, Big C, and Metro.

However, Hanh also pointed out the difficulties that Vietnamese
businesses encounter, including poor and ineffective competitiveness
among retail businesses, poor supply and quality of products, and
unremarkable packaging designs.

Weak management,
substandard equipment, unprofessional sales staff and the commercial
fraud situation in some businesses are attributed to discouraging
domestic consumers from local products.

Hanh
suggested that the People’s Committee at all levels pay due attention to
intensifying communication campaigns, especially in rural areas, and
gradually forming a buy-local consumer culture.

Nguyen Huu Thang, Chairman of the Management Board of Hanoi Trade
Corporation, said that businesses not only need to improve their models
and reduce production costs, but also need to understand consumer
psychology and taste.

The People’s Committees should
mobilise small businesses to work with producers and distributors to
promote the consumption of Vietnamese goods in the local market.

The State will devise specific policies to support businesses in
developing a modern retail system and promoting Vietnamese goods in
traditional markets, which also requires the effort of market managers
to prevent the import of goods with unknown origins, he added.

Nguyen Lam Vien, Vice President of the Business Association of
High-Quality Vietnamese Goods, said that his Association is promoting a
cooperative programme with the Department of Local Industry (Ministry of
Industry and Trade) in order to connect rural industrial producers with
the market.

The Association will pilot a
programme to upgrade the district markets in seven provinces and cities
in the southern and central regions.

The
programme will also focus on promoting Vietnamese goods’ penetration
into ASEAN and Chinese markets by enhancing links with multi-national
trade commissions and business associations in Vietnam.-VNA