Deputy Prime Minister Vương Đình Huệ and other visitors browse a booth at the event.— Photo courtesy of Big C

HÀ NỘI — A fair to introduce citrus fruits and safe agricultural products from Hòa Bình Province kicked off at the Big C Thăng Long supermarket in Hà Nội on Thursday.

A variety of Hòa Bình Province’s specialties are on display, including Cao Phong orange, Tân Lạc red and green-skin pomelo, Lương Sơn, Yên Thủy vegetable, Lạc Sơn chicken, Đà river fish and shrimp and types of tea bags. All of the products have stamps of origin traceability.

The event, held between November 14-18, is seen as a good opportunity for the province to introduce and promote sales of its high-quality agricultural products to modern retail channels as well as citizens of Hà Nội and nearby localities.

According to Bùi Văn Khánh, deputy secretary of the provincial Party Committee and chairman of provincial People’s Committee, Hà Nội is a large market with great demand for agricultural products, but consumption of Hòa Bình Province’s products here is just 20-30 per cent of its supply capacity.

“The reason is that the province lacks large production-consumption models and synchronised supply chains, while product information introduced to Hà Nội’s citizens is limited,” Khánh said.

He hopes the week of Hòa Bình Province’s safe agricultural products will provide an opportunity for the province’s businesses to meet and seek cooperation with enterprises of Hà Nội and neighbouring provinces, promoting sales of its products to supermarkets, trade centres and agricultural processing and export enterprises.

Đỗ Thắng Hải, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, said the ministry has cooperated with many sides to organise a lot of weeks of agricultural products for many provinces at modern retail channels including Big C and Aeon mall.

This is an effective trade promotion programme for provinces to introduce their safe and high-quality products, helping grow local businesses and farmers, promote “One Community One Product” campaign and introduce the tourism and investment potential of provinces, Hải said.

Along with Big C Thăng Long, Hòa Bình Province’s products are sold at 17 Big C and GO! supermarkets in the northern region with discounts of between 17-33 per cent.

At the event, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Big C and five Hòa Bình-based cooperatives was signed to promote sales of their products to Big C supermarkets.

A representative of Central Retail Vietnam said Big C is cooperating with 139 cooperatives nationwide with sales of about 20,000 tonnes of agricultural products annually.  VNS