The opening of the 2023 Supply-Demand Connection conference on December 21 at the Phú Thọ Gymnasium in HCM City. — VNS Photo

HCM CITY — More than 1,000 businesses from 45 cities and provinces are participating in the annual Supply-Demand Connection conference that opened in HCM City on December 21.

Organised by the city Department of Industry and Trade in collaboration with its counterparts elsewhere and the Ministry of Industry and Trade, this year’s programme focuses on promoting links between 12 distribution systems, five e-commerce platforms and more than 1,000 suppliers.

There will be seminars on accessing advanced sales methods by Amazon Global Selling Vietnam, Alibaba, Tiki, and Data Science JSC.

It will feature an exhibition titled "Essence of craft villages and regional specialties 2023" that will showcase products made by traditional craft villages, speciality items and products developed under the One Commune, One Product programme organised by the city department and Investment and Trade Promotion Centre of HCM City.

Visitors will have a chance to learn about the history of and interesting stories about products from famous traditional craft villages and join artisans in making unique handicraft products.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Nguyễn Văn Dũng, deputy chairman of the city People’s Committee, said the programme in its 12th year was a two-way activity helping provinces find regular distribution channels for their products and city businesses get a steady and abundant supply of goods at reasonable prices for the market stabilisation programme,  especially during the holiday season.

Thanks to the close co-operation between the localities, consumers in the city had access to thousands of specialities so much so that retailers such as Coopmart, BigC, Top Market, Satra, and MM Mega Market had set aside separate space for displaying OCOP products, he said.

A booth at the exhibition titled "Essence of craft villages and regional specialties 2023" as part of the the 2023 Supply-Demand Connection conference at the Phú Thọ Gymnasium in HCM City. — VNS Photo

Many OCOP products such as Cần Giờ bird’s nest, Bến Tre coconut, Bình Phước cashew, Trà Vinh coconut nectar, Bình Định young green rice cake, and Bắc Cạn arrowroot vermicelli have become popular in the city, he said.

He called on other localities to help businesses apply technology in production and farming and participate in the programme, scrupulously control product quality and organise trade promotion programmes in major markets, including HCM City.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Phan Thị Thắng said the programme launched in 2012 had seen a sharp rise in the number of provinces and businesses joining it.

She called on local governments and businesses to foster the domestic market, improve quality and competitiveness and build brands for their products.

She urged producers and distributors to link up online at www.ketnoicungcau.vn and to enhance sales of their products on e-commerce platforms. 

In addition, more efforts were needed to support products voted as HCM City Golden Brand products, OCOPs and regional specialties enter the city’s distribution channels, she added.

The event is being held at the Phú Thọ Gymnasium in District 11 with 500 stalls. — VNS

A booth introducing products of Đắk Lăk Province at the 2023 Supply-Demand Connection conference. — VNS Photo