Although import duties on milk materials rose 14 % in early August, Hancofood has not made any price hike since the start of the year.
Hancofood , a dairy producer, planned to cooperate with nursery schools in Ho Chi Minh City on a dairy product sales programme, under which it will offer a 30 % price decrease for children in suburban areas using Hancofood products. The company is hailed for its very creativity in encouraging Vietnamese consumers to use Vietnamese goods.
Major changes
In the past few years, domestic companies continuously improved quality, diversified products, reduced price, expanded network and boosted promotional activities.
Many have been certified international quality standards like ISO. This helps domestic consumers trust more in Vietnamese products and replace foreign goods.
Vietnam-made goods have seen many changes in design and quality, helping sales of domestically made goods increase by 30 %. At Maximark Cong Hoa, domestic goods account for over 70 % of the products displayed on shelves.
Vietnam-made processed food is now favoured by Vietnamese consumers. Ground crab, which was previously only sold at traditional markets, is now available at supermarkets in vacuum packs. Wholesale markets and supermarkets like Co-op Mart, Big C, Maximark and Citimart all say that pork and processed beef of Vissan are favoured by many housewives.
Binh Tay Market in District 6, Ho Chi Minh City has been well-known as a big import product seller. However, 100 % of fresh food and fine arts are made in Vietnam. 80 % of processed food is also manufactured in Vietnam, while the figures are 50 % for footwear, confections, apparel and 70-80 % for china, plastic and home products.
MaxiMark on Road 3-2 is also considered a supermarket which sells many foreign-made product items. However, domestic fresh and processed foods still dominate the shelves. On confectionary shelves in the supermarket, though Thai, Singapore and Malaysian products have been popular, domestic products of Kinh Do, Bibica, URC and Pham Nguyen brand names still account for 50 % of the displayed products.
Nguyen Dinh Lien Chi, PR Director of L’oreal Vietnam, said “I used to study and live in Thailand, the US and Singapore, thus, I had the habit of using foreign-made products, especially clothes. However, my habit changed a little since I realised that many made-in-Vietnam products had good quality and prices a half of import prices. I believe that in the time to come, Vietnam-made products, especially clothes and footwear, will see more diversified designs. At that time, Vietnam-made goods will be my top choice.”
Barriers against imports
Notably, many domestic products have similar quality and designs to foreigners while prices are just equal to 40 % but they are not sold as well as imported items.
There are many reasons for the keenness on foreign products. First of all, foreign products have been on the Vietnamese market very early. In addition, the eradication of taxes on goods from ASEAN in 2009 has facilitated foreign entry. The second is the psychological favourite for foreign products. Thirdly, the State lacks legal instruments to protect consumers.
Pham Ngoc Chau, Director of Hancofood, said: “To occupy the home market, domestic enterprises need to have clear quality criteria and demonstrate their responsibilities with the community. They need to change their business thoughts, sales policies, marketing plans, product standards and human resource policies to create better products.”
In addition, domestic companies need to join hands to fight against foreigners.
Mr Ho Tat Thang, Vice President of Vietnam Standards and Consumer Protection Association, said there needs a coordination of the state, enterprises and consumers. Particularly, the State needs policies and measures to examine imported goods, especially foods and tighten control over marketing, promotion and advertising activities.
Enterprises need to create right business principles. They need to coordinate with State organs to prevent unhealthy competition and boost domestic goods sales. (VNE)
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