Japanese consumers select to buy Vietnamese dragon fruits (Photo: VNA)Tokyo (VNA) – A week of Vietnam-Hanoigoods kicked off at the AEON Lake Town Mori in Japan’s Saitama prefecture onJune 8 as part of a cooperation pact signed between the Vietnamese Ministry ofIndustry and Trade (MoIT), Hanoi authorities, and Japanese retail group AEON.
Joining the event are nearly 20Vietnamese firms operating in the fields of garment-textile, food, household appliance,and interior decoration. Their display at the AEON Lake Town Mori is part ofthis year’s Vietnamese goods week programme, which is running across 40 AEON supermarketsand malls in Japan between June 4 and 10. The programme also features businessnetworking, Vietnamese cuisine, and Vietnamese traditional music performances.
Speaking at the opening ceremonyin Saitama, Ta Hoang Linh, Director of the MoIT’s European-American MarketDepartment and head of the project on fostering Vietnamese businesses’ directparticipation in foreign distribution systems, said Japan is an importantpartner of Vietnam with bilateral trade hitting about 38 billion USD in 2018.Vietnam has become an investment destination for Japanese firms in recent years,he added.
Linh said the MoIT signed amemorandum of understanding on cooperation with the AEON group last year tofacilitate Vietnamese companies in expanding their export markets and joiningthe global supply chain.
Based on effective outcomes ofthe week of Vietnamese goods in 2018, this year’s edition is held, reflectingthe strengthened collaboration between the two governments and their businesscommunities, he stressed.
Toshiya Gotou, an official of theAEON group, said Japanese consumers are interested more in Vietnamese productsand recommended Vietnamese firms to pay attention to pesticide issues relatedto their fresh farm produce.
AEON is committed to boosting theexport turnover of Vietnamese products via its retail system to 500 million USDin 2020 and 1 billion USD in 2025, he said.
Director of the Hanoi Centre forInvestment, Trade, and Tourism Promotion Nguyen Gia Phuong said the programmehas enabled Vietnamese suppliers, particularly small- and medium-sized enterprises,to showcase their products and exchange experience to meet AEON’s standards inJapan, and in some of the group’s key markets like China, Malaysia, andIndonesia.-VNA
VNA
