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‘Buy local' campaign in a bind
The steering committee for the "Vietnamese People Buy Made-in-Viet Nam Products First" campaign has advocated policies encouraging domestic producers to improve the quality of their goods, said an official from the Viet Nam Fatherland Front.
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| People buy goods at a department store in Muong Ang District in the northwestern mountain city of Dien Bien. Domestic producers are encouraged to improve the quality of their goods to attract local consumers. |
Vu Trong Kim, deputy chairman and general secretary of the Front, spoke at the conference on the theme held earlier this week.
He said that the steering committee would focus on reviewing and adding policies to encourage local producers to invest further in production, improve the quality of their products and build up their brands.
The steering committee would urge enterprises to invest in technology and management systems to improve quality, reduce production costs and establish distribution networks, Kim said.
The committee would support the enterprises in stabilising the price of goods, especially ones distributing to rural, remote and mountainous regions, he said.
At the conference, experts said there were many initiatives, mechanisms and policies involved in the campaign, but thus far they had not been implemented effectively.
To Hoai Nam, general secretary of the Viet Nam Small – and Medium-Sized Enterprise Association, said the factor that had the strongest effect on the campaign was sale networks so enterprises should focus on that aspect.
Additionally, the State should eliminate smuggled goods in the domestic market, Nam said. If smuggling did not stop, enterprises would not dare to invest in production because they could not compete, he stressed.
"Though domestic customers love their country, they would not buy made-in-Viet Nam products if the products do not meet their demands", he said.
Deputy minister of industry and trade Ho Thi Kim Thoa said existing distribution systems for made-in-Viet Nam products had developed in the past three years.
Enterprises have produced goods of higher quality for diverse needs with cheaper price, she said. But distribution of made-in-Viet Nam goods to rural areas has been not simple because the areas lacked infrastructure for trading activities.
According to the report of the steering committee, the campaign contributed greatly to the increase in total retail value of goods and services last year, which rose year-on-year by 24 per cent to US$95 billion.
The Nielsen Company's recent survey reported 90 per cent of customers in HCM City chose made-in-Viet Nam products, while the figure was 83 per cent in Ha Noi.
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