Having just launched smoked eggs, a new product, Vinh Thanh Dat now wants to increase the proportion of Vfood-brand processed food products sold in the market to 30 percent of total products by 2021, from less than 20 percent currently.

Because of Covid-19, the sale of fresh eggs dropped sharply. Schools, catering companies and bakeries stopped ordering eggs. However, the sale of processed eggs remains strong because they can be preserved for a long time.

“The sale of fresh eggs has recovered by 70-80 percent. However, the epidemic helped us realize the high risk in relying on fresh eggs,” said Truong Chi Thien, Vinh Thanh Dat’s general director.

Thien said his company has spent VND10 billion to import processing and packaging equipment, and to upgrade the workshop for food processing. The machines that make smoked eggs are imported from South Korea.

Pham Chi Lan, a respected economist, advised enterprises to improve their strengths with the support of associations. The associations can spend money on market research to discover changes in consumers’ tastes and new consumption trends.

Thien said the three-month time of ‘living together with the epidemic’ was the time for Vinh Thanh Dat to design new products. Some of them will be marketed soon in a plan to develop the domestic market.

Pham Xuan Hong from Agtek said the textile and garment industry has been hit hard by Covid-19.

The epidemic has made enterprises rethink production and market structure. Some companies, living on exports, are step by step developing products for the domestic market.

“The domestic market is not the way out for textile and garment companies, but it is an important auxiliary market,” Hong said.

Because exports cannot return to normal because of the escalation of the epidemic in importing countries, developing the domestic market is the right choice.

Nguyen Thi Thu Trang from the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) thinks that enterprises should think of ‘standing on their own two feet’ – exporting products and selling products in the domestic market.

She believes that reconsidering demand and taking full advantage of low transportation costs are great opportunities for enterprises to develop the domestic market.

“While the export markets remain dim, the domestic market deserves consideration,” Trang said.

Pham Chi Lan, a respected economist, advised enterprises to improve their strengths with the support of associations. The associations can spend money on market research to discover changes in consumers’ tastes and new consumption trends. 

Mai Lan

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