More than 600 businesses receive this year’s Vietnamese High-Quality Goods awards in HCM City on  Friday. —VNS Photo Văn Châu

HCM CITY — More than 600 businesses received the 2020 Vietnamese High-Quality Goods awards at a ceremony held in HCM City on Friday.

They make a range of products such as sauces, spices, confectionary, non-alcoholic beverages, cosmetics, jewellery, electrical and household machinery; dairy products, farm produce, pharmaceuticals, and dried foodstuff and instant foods.

For the first time, because of the COVID-19 epidemic in the first quarter that continues to have a negative impact on the market, the Vietnamese High-Quality Goods certification will be valid for two years since businesses need time to recover, according to the High Quality Vietnamese Product Business Association, which gives the awards.

The 24th annual awards were based on a survey done by directly interviewing 12,699 households and 2,564 sellers in provinces or cities in key economic centres across the country and an online survey using a specialised app that received 2,000 responses.

The survey was checked for transparency of information by authorised agencies and relevant industries and checking for transparency of information.

Vũ Kim Hạnh, chairwoman of the association, said it also granted Vietnamese High Quality Goods Integration Standard certificates to 44 companies, taking the number so far to 146, 118 of them in the food sector.

The certification is based on Vietnamese and global Good Agricultural Practices (VietGAP and GlobalGAP) standards. — VNS