A booth showcasing products of Ninh Thuận Province at the event. — VNA/VNS Photo Phan Sáu

KHÁNH HOÀ — A conference intended to promote trade ties between HMC City and six provinces in the south-central coastal region was held in the central city of Nha Trang on Friday with the participation of 200 delegates.

The attendees were representatives from local state management agencies, suppliers and sales enterprises.

Six localities were Bình Định, Bình Thuận, Khánh Hòa, Ninh Thuận, Phú Yên và Quảng Ngãi. 

Chairman of Khánh Hoà People's Committee Nguyễn Tấn Tuân described HCM City as a place with large-scale goods manufacturers and distributors. The city was also the largest commodity consumption market in the country and an important gateway connecting trade with the region and the world.

In recent years, trade connection and promotion activities among HCM City and six provinces in the south-central coastal region have contributed to stabilising consumption of several products in the city market and in southern provinces and cities. That has helped promote consumption and stimulate consumer demand, accelerate the flow of goods and raise the value of typical products of localities.

At the same time, some large corporations in the city have opened branches in the provinces, creating a driving force for the development of local commercial infrastructure, Tuân said. 

Khánh Hòa would always accompany and create the most favourable conditions for businesses in HCM City and other provinces to operate effectively in the locality, contributing to speeding up its socio-economic development, the chairman noted. 

During the event, Vice Chairman of the HCM City People's Committee Võ Văn Hoan said if the city wanted to develop, it had to connect with other localities.

HCM City last year recorded impressive positive growth thanks to its policy of expanding trade connections, Hoan said. 

Currently, the commodity economy has no limits. Thus, enterprises needed to try their bests to improve product quality and bring good quality products to consumers. 

At the same time, distributors should meet with manufacturers to connect and inject investment capital to produce goods to meet the needs of businesses and markets, according to the vice chairman. 

At the conference, the participants also gave opinions about the difficulties in connecting and trading goods among these localities. Among them included the region's insufficient transport infrastructure and lack of warehouses to preserve fresh and long-lasting food. 

They also made recommendations related to checking the source of goods; prices of products; manufacturer information and support from the State on developing websites and opening more shopping centres.

The event saw 28 contracts and 18 memorandums of understanding inked among HCM City's distributors and supply enterprises in the south-central coastal region.

Central Retail Vietnam said it struck deals with three suppliers in the region including FMCG which provides Phan Thiết fish sauce in Bình Thuận Province and two others which offer durian and VietGap vegetables in Khánh Hòa Province. 

Chief Executive Officer of Central Retail Vietnam Olivier Langlet said his company has three investment projects in the south-central coastal region, consisting of three existing shopping centres in Khánh Hòa, Bình Định, and Quảng Ngãi.

"The company's plan for the development of the region is to conduct further research and surveys to expand our distribution system. Our focus will be on expanding our presence in provinces such as Phú Yên, Khánh Hòa, and Bình Thuận, and developing a general supermarket chain store network at the district level throughout the region. To achieve this, we hope to receive more support from the local government," he said. 

"Furthermore, we would like to collaborate with local authorities to facilitate business connections with new suppliers, particularly for fresh goods that meet the criteria and specifications required to enter our distribution system.

"The local government could support in offering favourable policies to boost investment development and logistics efficiency and play a role as an effective bridge for distributors and local businesses to achieve practical results and contribute to the overall development of the region," he noted.  — VNS