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Supermarket-farmer alliance boosts consumption
Farmers’ concerns about consumption of their products have been addressed as more supermarkets want to cooperate with them in producing and selling rural products.
It can be said that farmer households in specialist fruit and vegetable areas in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong and the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang have never received such good care from supermarkets as currently.
According to Duong Thi Quynh Trang, Director for External Relations at the Big C supermarket chain, Mekong Delta fruits and Lam Dong vegetables now account for large spaces in Big C supermarkets with an average 1,400 tonnes consumed per month.
Since it started its pilot model of association with producers in mid-2008, Big C has successfully promoted the brands of over 30 local agricultural and food production companies by selling their products in Big C supermarkets and has also exported some lines.
Boosting cooperation for mutual development with local providers is a top priority in Big C’s business policy and the partnership has been strengthened by a strategic cooperation programme which will be implemented from now to 2011 in all 63 cities and provinces nationwide.
After Big C, Saigon Co.op signed long-term consumption and investment contracts worth a total 20 billion VND with Tien Giang and Lam Dong provinces through its system of Co.op Mart and Co.op Food shops.
At present, Saigon Co.op daily consumes around 40 tonnes of vegetables and 50 tonnes of fruit, mainly from Lam Dong. The corporation also has an ambition to expand cooperation with many other localities in order to gain priority supplies.
With the benefit of its experience as a world-leading distributor, Metro Cash & Carry has rapidly expanded its purchasing network to all localities in Vietnam and at the same time supported farmers to produce safe agricultural products under international standards. These products, besides being sold in Vietnam-based Metro supermarkets, are expected to be sold in Metro chains throughout the world.
The group recently hosted a conference of producers in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang to familiarise them with its supply chain in the domestic market. During the process of building this chain, Metro will train local producers in the supply methods of modern trade channels.
Vietnam’s agricultural products account for up to 90 percent of the total volume of farm produce sold in the country’s supermarkets.
vietnamplus
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