Urban consumers are willing to pay more for safe food

Kim Trinh, an office worker, recently spent VND2.4 million to buy a 30 kilogram pig raised by her friend in a traditional way, with no industrial feed.

Trinh said the pig had been raised for five months and that one-third of its weight was fat. “The meat is delicious. You can’t buy such pork in the market. The pork there is lean because pigs are fed with too much salbutamol,” she said.

Meanwhile, Ho Hiep, a housewife, said she has added one safe food shop near her house on to a ‘black list’.

“The shop advertises that it sells safe vegetables. But I saw a saleswoman packaging vegetables this morning. She bought vegetables from traditional market and labelled them as clean vegetables to sell at high prices,” Hiep explained.

Mai Ngoc from Binh Thanh district has constant anxiety about the quality of food sold in the market. She only uses vegetables grown in her family’s garden in Vinh Long province.

According to Kantar Worldpanel Vietnam, an urban family spends VND1.1 million a month on food. The four kinds of products they buy the most include fruit, pork, fish and seafood. The spending on fruits, fish and seafood is on the rise, as they now are willing to pay more money for organic products.

Nguyen Phuoc Trung, director of the HCMC Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the sales at the 10 safe food fairs organized in the city in 2018 were very satisfactory, about VND200 billion. Only products meeting VietGap standards could be displayed at the fair.

“Domestic consumers are getting smarter,” said Vu Thanh Hoa from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

Vietnam’s current retail market includes traditional markets and modern markets which account for 65 percent and 35 percent, respectively. It is estimated that 85 percent of spending on fresh food is made at traditional markets.

Le Viet Nga from the Ministry of Industry and Trade said the development of the model of safe food markets has been accelerated. However, she agrees with experts that farmers should also think of selling high-quality products via modern distribution channels because sales through supermarkets and convenience stores have been increasing steadily.

The domestic demand for safe food is high enough to bring profits to farmers. However, to win consumers’ confidence, farmers need to obtain quality certificates for their products (GAP, GMP or HACCP).

Meanwhile, according to Vu Kim Hanh from the Vietnam High-quality Products Enterprise Association, only 18 percent cooperatives in Dong Thap in a survey last August said they have a VietGAP certificate.

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