We must lead the way in buying Vietnamese goods

Deputy Chairwoman of the HCM City People’s Committee Nguyen Thi Hong said Vietnamese made products are always top priority for public spending.

In the recent interview with Tuoi tre newspaper, Hong said that since 2001, many legal documents have been released, stipulating that government agencies must purchase domestically made goods when making purchases with state cash. They can purchase foreign made products only when the products cannot be made domestically.

Heads of government agencies every year approve listsof items that need to be purchased. However, all the payments must go through the city’s treasury which will immediately spot unreasonable purchases.

Tuoi tre: You were once the city’s finance department director, therefore, you may well understand the public spending of government agencies. Can you see any differences in the public spending in the past and nowadays?

Hong: I can say for sure that all Government agencies in HCM City have been strictly following the principle of prioritizing the purchase of Vietnamese goods. Several years ago, the treasury sometimes still discovered unreasonable purchases, but now it does not find anything.

It is partially because of the strict mechanism which requires people prioritize Vietnamese goods. However, I think that the more important reason is that Vietnamese goods have become better and more diversified which can bring more choices to buyers.

Tuoi tre: But manufacturers have complained that they still find it difficult to sell products to domestic consumers. In particular, illegal imports and counterfeit goods are tough competition. Do you think that it is because there has been no suitable policy to protect genuine businesses?

Hong: 11,000 violation cases were discovered by the city’s market control sub-department in 2009 which had the total value of 80 billion dong. This shows the big efforts city’s authorities are making to support genuine producers. However, in order to become more efficient in this area, the State needs to amend its policies. Currently applied punishments are just not heavy enough.

Tuoi tre: Is HCM City going to launch policy this year to encourage the use of domestically made products and help domestic businesses cement firm positions in the home market?

Hong: We are planning to implement a series of measures in order to follow up the “Buy Vietnamese goods” campaign. I have worked this out with the city’s television channel and have asked them to set up a specific channel to help businesses advertise and introduce Vietnamese goods at reasonable costs. The channel will be broadcasted no later than this year

I have asked management boards from export processing zones, industrial zones, industry departments and district people’s committees to bring Vietnamese goods to sell to workers there several times a week.

We also have plans to penetrate the Cambodian market by planning to set up sale points along borders with Cambodia which will help Vietnamese enterprises export more easily.

Tuoi tre: Could you please tell us about how your family and you are using Vietnamese goods?

Hong: We are always using domestically made products, especially food and clothes. Domestic food is always fresh, well processed and reasonably priced. As for garment products, they have good design that fit different ages.

VietNamNet/TT

Tags: Vietnam business news, Vietnam goods