(VOVWORLD) - Initiated 20 years ago by Ho Chi Minh City, the market stabilization program has developed a stable source of supply of essential goods at a price level lower than market price, contributing to the municipal social-economic development. The program has helped HCMC outline practical solutions to expand its scale and enhance its efficiency by improving product quality towards deep processing.
 Price-stabilized items on display at a supermarket in HCMC. (Photo: Son Nam) |
Nguyen Hong Thu of Thu Duc city, home to a large population of workers and people with limited income, said that in recent years her family has mainly bought essential goods and school supplies for the children at the program’s points of sales, at a price 5 to 10% lower than the market. This has helped disadvantaged people like her save a lot.
“There are quite a few points of sales like Vissan, Satra, and Co.op Mart near my house. It’s very convenient for me. The prices are remarkably low there. I trust the quality of the goods at these places," said Thu.
As of late last year, HCMC had 11,000 points of sale. Price-stabilized items make up between 19 and 79% of the volume of goods in the market.
The quantity of goods is on the rise. The program now includes eight groups of essential goods - rice, cooking oil, beef, poultry meat, poultry eggs, processed foods, sugar, and vegetables - plus a number of items for school and COVID-19 prevention.
The program's revenue has grown from 15 million USD in 2002 to nearly 1 billion USD last year. This success is due to the efforts of state management agencies and participation by the business community.
 Nguyen Anh Duc, Saigon Co.op General Director (Photo credit: Saigon Co.op)
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Nguyen Anh Duc, General Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Union of Trade Cooperatives, one of the first participants in the program, said Saigon Co.op’s goods have increased 8-fold since the beginning.
All its supermarkets and convenience stores in Ho Chi Minh City and 42 of Vietnam’s 63 provinces and cities offer price-stabilized goods, whose revenues account for 15%.
“Saigon Co.op supports participating businesses with preferential costs. We have created favorable conditions for producers to sell their goods in our supermarkets and stores,” said Duc.
 Phan Van Mai, Chairman of HCMC People's Committee (Photo: Sy Dong)
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To further improve the market stabilization program, the municipal government has designed a plan to prepare a source of supply and add new items based on people’s needs.
In addition, HCMC has increased investment in commercial infrastructure and logistics. Greater efforts will be made to improve product quality and apply technology to deep processing.
Phan Van Mai, Chairman of the municipal People's Committee, said the city plans to create a specialized farming area closely linked to deep processing. The city will link the raw material area with localities nationwide, and connect production, processing, transportation, distribution, and sales.
According to Mai, what HCMC needs is to turn agriculture into an efficient agricultural economy and link production, processing, and distribution with domestic commercial activities and exports.
“We need to keep up with technology trends and marketing modes by applying advanced technology to production, processing, and e-commerce,” Mai concluded.