Visitors at the event. — VNS Photo Mai Hương

HÀ NỘI — The Plum Week and Safe Agricultural Products of Sơn La Province opened at Big C Thăng Long supermarket in Hà Nội on Thursday evening, connecting the province’s businesses and cooperatives with retailers and businesses in other provinces and cities.

The event was organised by the Sơn La Provincial Investment Promotion Centre in collaboration with Central Retail Vietnam and Vietnam Farmers' Union.

The five-day event features 30 stalls showcasing a wide range of Sơn La’s agricultural products meeting food safety standards such as VietGAP, GolbalGAP, OCOP and organic certifications. The focus was on promoting Sơn La plums.

Sơn La provincial People’s Committee Vice Chairman Nguyễn Thành Công highlighted the significance of the event, stating that it presents a valuable opportunity to showcase the province’s agricultural products and safe food in both the capital city’s market and beyond, encompassing various provinces.

He further proposed agencies, ministries, provinces and cities continue their support for Sơn La Province’s product consumption and their inclusion on e-commerce platforms as well as at various distribution channels, including supermarkets, retail distributors, wholesale markets and traditional markets.

Sơn La Province takes pride in its distinction as the largest fruit granary in the North, encompassing an expansive area of fruit trees of 84,784 hectares and expected yield of nearly 451,200 tonnes in 2023, up 2.1 per cent and 28 per cent, respectively, compared to 2022.

Plums reign supreme among the diverse fruit offerings in Sơn La, with a sprawling expanse of 12,353 hectares dedicated to their cultivation and anticipated output of around 89,837 tonnes in 2023. The Sơn La plums have been acknowledged for their distinctive attributes in terms of both design and taste. "Sơn La plum" acquired a trademark registration certificate in 2021 from the National Office of Intellectual Property under the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Cao Xuân Thu Vân, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Farmers' Union, emphasised the union's support for businesses and cooperation in the promotion and consumption of provinces' agricultural products, especially those recognised by OCOP and other standards. Various activities were mentioned, including trade promotions, price stabilisation and efforts to enhance the brand value of agricultural products in domestic and foreign markets.

Central Retail signs agreements on consumption of Sơn La's agricultural products in its distribution channels. — Photo courtesy of Central Retail

Many agreements were also signed during the event, including contracts on consumption of Sơn La’s agricultural products between Central Retail Vietnam and Sơn La’s cooperatives and contracts to bring Sơn La's exquisite plum fruit on Vietnam Airlines flights throughout 2023.

Representative of Central Retail Việt Nam highlighted the popularity of Sơn La province's products in Central Retail's food retail system, disclosing the information that over 60 Sơn La agricultural products are regularly sold across 18 supermarkets, resulting in a 20-fold increase in sales in 2022, with some items experiencing an impressive 80-fold growth.

Sơn La actively collaborates with Central Retail to organise promotional events featuring their agricultural products, such as the weeks of longan, strawberries and mangoes every year.— VNS