Long An steps up regional connectivity, consumption market expansion

Banana products of Huy Long An Company at a fair hosted recently

Statistics by the agricultural industry show that Long An farmers produce over 180,000 tons of vegetables, 300,000 tons of fruits, over 72,000 tons of meat and 160 million chicken eggs a year on average.

Determining neighboring HCMC to be the major consumption market, the provincial Department of Industry and Trade has focused on trade connectivity.  Last year, it signed an industry and trade development cooperation agreement in the phase of 2016-2020.

Implementing the agreement, the agency invited cooperatives to attend a provincial delegation to work with Saigon Trading Corporation (Satra), Vissan Joint Stock Company and Saigon Union of Trading Cooperatives (Saigon Co.op) to build goods supply chain and find stable consumption sources.

The department has supplied information of 34 establishments producing vegetables and fruit meeting safe standards and VietGAP quality standards to supply Satra and Saigon Co.op, worked with Ben Luc district People’s Committee to organize a lemon consumption workshop. After the workshop, seven establishments and cooperatives have won contracts to supply lemon for distribution businesses.

Safe vegetables have had foothold in the market and that is result of many trade promotion events by the agency including safe farm produce fairs in Dong Ho restaurant, Le Van Tam park and Le Thi Rieng park in HCMC. Through the fairs, some businesses and cooperatives had accessed HCMC consumers and wholesale businesses to advertise their products.

Asides from that the agency has facilitated 14 firms and cooperatives’ attendance in the supply and demand connectivity conference among HCMC and other provinces and cities in 2017 to showcase outstanding products of the province.

Director of the department Le Minh Duc said that goods consumption promotion and connectivity activities have been more and more efficient for the last past, creating stable consumption sources for products of businesses and cooperatives in the province and opportunities for relevant sides to connect together, take goods to distribution system and expand the market to neighboring nations such as Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and China.

Stalls of businesses from Long An province attract lot of Cambodian visitors and customers at a fair in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

“Friendship, cooperation and development” is the theme of the expo in Phnom Penh on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relation establishment between Vietnam and Cambodia and Vietnam-Cambodia friendship year 2017.

The expo introduced socio economic development situation and results of the two countries with the attendance of 120 Vietnamese and about 30 Cambodian firms. Stalls of businesses from Long An province attracted lot of Cambodian visitors and shoppers, showcasing lemon, dragon fruits and LED tube lights. Businesses and cooperatives signed lot of commercial contracts with firms in Phnom Penh.

The Department of Industry and Trade has created conditions for busisnesses to participate in 15 expos nationwide and 14 Vietnamese market days taking Vietnamese goods to rural, border areas, industrial parks and zones; worked with the Ministry of Industry and Trade to build trade connectivity programs between Vietnamese rice export firms and Chinese companies. That is a chance for the two sides to introduce and advertise their products and intensify trade cooperation relations and rice export in the upcoming time.

Mr. Duc said that last year the agency consulted the provincial People’s Committee on organizing delegations to Vietnamese Cao Bang province and Baise city, Guangxi province, China to boost agricultural, commercial and industrial cooperation.

This year, the department will continue implementing supply-demand connectivity and trade promotion activities  to expand consumption market especially in HCMC, northern provinces and cities and mini supermarkets in high class apartment blocks; and build brand names for products such as seedless lemon and dragon fruit.

In addition, the agency has worked with the People’s Committee of Tan An city to organize safe farm produce fairs, introducing clean and safe products to consumers and calling on businesses to invest in large commercial and service projects in the province./.

By Mai Huong – Translated by Kim Chung