Vietnamese trade cooperative Saigon Co.op, which sells around 50 tonnes of vegetables daily, has signed an agreement with four local vegetable producing cooperatives to supply its retail outlets with clean produce.
Viet Nam News reported that Saigon Co.op will stock vegetables from Phuoc An, Nga Ba Giong, Tan Phu Trung and Tho Viet Cooperatives in its Co.op Mart supermarkets and Co.op Food outlets in Ho Chi Minh City.
Saigon Co.op will also invest US$307,692 in the cooperatives to help them improve production technology to raise the quality of their produce and build their brands.
It will also provide valuable information to the cooperatives about produce demand and assist them to conform to Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) protocols.
Deputy general director of Saigon Co.op Bui Hanh Thu told Viet Nam News the deal will help farmers feel more secure in their production, while ensuring a stable supply of vegetables for the Co.op Mart chain.
Ho Chi Minh City has an estimated 2,800ha planted to vegetables, yielding around 200,000 tonnes a year, said Nguyen Phuoc Trung, deputy director of the agriculture and rural development department in Ho Chi Minh City.
