Complex rules and procedures have been preventing locally grown products from getting their place on supermarket shelves.
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| Agricultural products require seven licenses to get into supermarkets |
At a meeting about finding outlets for products from rural villages, held on December 19, Vu Thi Hau, Deputy Director of the FIVIMart, said they only accept agricultural products that have at least seven licenses.
The quality standards certificates is the hardest to get, requiring coordination with several different agencies in order to get it done.
This posed even bigger problems for farmers. Because most of them are household business with small output. These complex procedures and high fees have been especially discouraging for them.
In Thua Thien Hue Province, the green tea of Thuy Bieu Village, a famous specialty of Hue, registered their trademark since 2007, but is still unable to find an outlet in supermarkets.
The representative of Thuy Bieu Agricultural Cooperative said the procedures are too complicated and time consuming.
However, Vu Thi Hau, Deputy Director of the FIVIMart said, "The licenses are necessary. We wouldn't be able to guaranteed the quality of products otherwise."
At another meeting about distribution of domestic products from rural villages in the Central Highlands, representatives of well-known supermarkets, such as Big C, Metro and Co.op Mart agreed said that localities are responsible for building up their own brands.
Currently, supermarkets continue to sell many Chinese and Thai products without qualm.