Firms feted for high-quality products

Customers buy sauces at a Vietnamese Goods Fair. Some sauce firms won this year's Producer of High Quality Vietnamese Goods award. — VNA/VNS Photo Tran Le Lam

HCM CITY (VNS)— There were 59 new winners and 42 who had won the annual recognition for 17 years in a row as 415 firms received the 2012 Producer of High Quality Vietnamese Goods award at a ceremony held yesterday.

The 415 firms were selected following 16,000 survey questionnaires sent to consumers nationwide by the Business Association of High-Quality Vietnamese Goods.

The winning firms were makers of sauces, spices, non-alcoholic beverages, drugs, dry foods, instant foods, frozen foods, plastic products and others.

The association co-operated with localities and relevant agencies to check the firms' compliance with product quality management, their discharge of social responsibilities and other factors.

Yesterday's ceremony was orgainsed by the association in collaboration with the Business Studies and Assistance Centre in HCM City and the Sai Gon Tiep Thi newspaper.

In a related development, a forum last week heard that increasing numbers of consumers were aware of the need to buy more locally made goods, three years after the Government launched its "Vietnamese use Vietnamese goods" campaign.

The forum focused on ways to raise consumers' trust in Vietnamese goods and services.

A report tabled at the forum said cited survey results as showing around 59 per cent of consumers are satisfied with the Vietnamese products purchased while 38 per cent of respondents said they would advise their relatives to use Vietnamese goods.

The campaign has had a positive impact in increasing awareness and changing perceptions on using Vietnamese goods, the report said.

However, consumers' preference for imported goods is based on verifiable origins and accurate information, high quality, effective marketing, and good customer care, said Dinh Thi My Loan, chairwoman of the Viet Nam Retailers Association.

She said a national strategy that effectively uses the resources and skills of management agencies, business communities and mass media is needed to raise consumers' trust in Vietnamese goods and services.

As a bridge between producers and consumers, domestic retailers should be more active in implementing the "Vietnamese use Vietnamese goods" campaign, she added.

She said retailers should understand trends and shopping habits of consumers to introduce and promote Vietnamese goods in a proper way.

They must attach special importance to ensure reasonable prices, friendly service, and send consumer feedback to producers and distributors, she said.

Other forum participants said producers should be socially responsible and also transparent in providing information about their products and prices.

Business representatives attending the forum wanted the Government to strictly punish production and trading in fake goods to protect the legal interests of enterprises and consumers.

The Government can also do more to promote consumption of Vietnamese products, they said. — VNS