Saigon Co.op, Satra, AEON, Central Retail, MM Mega Market, and Bách Hóa Xanh sign an agreement to cooperate in controlling product quality in HCM City on March 8.— VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — Six leading distribution systems - Saigon Co.op, Satra, AEON, Central Retail, MM Mega Market, and Bách Hóa Xanh - signed an agreement to deploy a cooperation programme on goods quality control in HCM City on March 8.

The agreement was signed at a conference on building a sustainable supply chain for Vietnamese goods and improving their quality, which was held by the HCM City Steering Committee for the campaign “Vietnamese people give priority using Vietnamese products.”

Under the agreement, following the direction of the city Department of Industry and Trade, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and Department of Food Safety, the six distributors will set out specific quality parameters to detect and prevent unsafe products from entering their stores to protect consumer health.

In the initial stage, the programme will pilot three product groups, including fruits (chu mango, king orange, green-skinned grapefruit, white flesh dragon fruit, and cantaloupe), vegetables (lollo lettuce, bok choy, white cabbage, and regular tomatoes and cucumbers), and meat (pork and chicken).

Trần Thị Kim Yến, chairwoman of the Việt Nam Fatherland Front Committee of HCM City cum deputy head of the steering committee, emphasised that the cooperation in controlling product quality will be one of the first steps in building a truly sustainable supply chain of Vietnamese goods to serve Vietnamese consumers and promote the export of the products to demanding markets.

The programme will connect distribution systems towards cooperation in controlling product quality based on voluntary spirit, while jointly developing a code of conduct and acting together to say no to suppliers that violate quality standards, thereby creating a comprehensive deterrent to contribute to developing a healthy, safe and responsible supply chain, she expressed.

Speaking on the sidelines of the conference, retailers highly appreciated the initiative to connect and build a sustainable supply chain and improve the quality of Vietnamese goods.

Suppliers’ information as well as their products’ quality inspection results will be shared among participating distribution systems, they said, adding that products that violate quality commitments and do not ensure food safety will be removed from their stores.

The conference also witnessed a signing ceremony between Saigon Co.op and six companies and cooperatives that supply livestock and poultry meat, fruits and vegetables of about 500 tonnes to Saigon Co.op's distribution systems.

Accordingly, the two sides are committed to building a sustainable green supply chain to serve consumers, and ensure benefits for consumer health, production and business efficiency.

This cooperation also aimed to support domestically produced goods and unique products of HCM City to expand their presence in the domestic market as well as reach out to international markets through Saigon Co.op's strategic partner, NTUC FairPrice (Singapore).

Saigon Co.op’s exports of agricultural and fisheries products via NTUC FairPrice fetched VNĐ90 billion (over US$3.6 million) last year, up 32 per cent from 2022. — VNS