Food safety concerns are prompting increasing numbers of Vietnamese consumers to buy VietGAP-certified vegetables, despite their higher cost, reports the Saigon GP Daily.
Retailers in Ho Chi Minh claim sales of vegetables produced according to Vietnamese Good Agriculture Practice standards have risen three-fold since VietGAP-certified produce first arrived on the domestic market two months ago.
More consumers are buying VietGAP produce because its origin is clearly labelled, and despite the fact it costs three times more than non-certified vegetables, the report says.
Grower cooperatives around Ho Chi Minh city are expanding their cultivation of VietGAP-certified vegetables from 20ha to 80ha by the end of this year to meet this growing consumer demand.
Tran Van Hot, head of Nga Ba Giong Cooperative, told the Saigon GP Daily that his cooperative spent two years learning how to apply VietGAP's strict production standards.
