Customers shop at a supermarket in HCM City. The city’s price stabilisation programme will expand targeted participants to include those involved in the supply chain. — VNS Photo

HCM CITY — HCM City will further intensify efforts to control product quality, stabilise the market, and promote export activities this year in order to curb inflation and contribute to the city’s overall growth targets, according to the city's Department of Industry and Trade.

At a meeting held by the department on February 13 to deploy key initiatives of the city’s trade and industry sector for 2025, Nguyễn Minh Hùng, deputy head of the department’s trade management division, highlighted new aspects of the city’s price stabilisation programme for essential goods this year, saying that the programme will not only focus on stabilising end products but also input materials.

The department will invite more businesses nationwide to register for participation in the programme, particularly essential consumer goods producers, expanding targeted participants to include those involved in the goods supply chain (such as producers and suppliers of fertilisers and agricultural materials), he said.

In addition, the city will expand a cooperation programme on quality control of goods to ensure that all products sold by retailers meet the highest quality and safety standards and have a “Responsible Green Tick" label.

The city launched the Responsible Green Tick programme in March last year to foster the production of safe and sustainable foods by encouraging voluntary proactive participation by all actors in the supply chain and raising accountability, with the initial participation of six retailers.

As of now, 11 retailers, including Saigon Co.op, MM Mega Market, Central Retail, Satra, AEON, and Wincomerce, have joined the programme, Hùng said.

He emphasised that currently, distribution systems have designated areas for selling products with “Green tick label”.

Looking ahead, the department will also encourage more retail systems, sectors, and localities to participate in, enhance communication and promotion of the programme, and develop management software, he added.

Nguyễn Nguyên Phương, the department’s deputy director, said that to help businesses expand markets, the city will organise the third Vietnam Outstanding Export Products Fair, or HCM City Export 2025, next month at a bigger scale compared to 2024, with around 1,000 booths featuring a wide range of product categories.

Phương noted that exports in 2025 are expected to be unpredictable due to the ongoing global economic challenges, fierce competition and new regulations imposed by import markets.

This year, the city has set a target for double-digit growth, so the tasks assigned to the industry and trade sector, particularly in export activities, are significant, he said.

“For the export fair, we have dedicated a lot of time to working with businesses and foreign diplomatic agencies to help spread the fair’s information and invite companies, especially those from major markets, to visit the fair. With a larger scale, this event will contribute to boosting export activities,” Phương said.

The export fair is also an effective trade promotion method, and more cost-efficient compared to businesses taking their products abroad for promotion. Therefore, the city has decided to make this event an annual occurrence, he added. — VNS