Flower growers look to online sales amid COVID-19 resurgence Workers at a flower farm in Da Lat City. Traditionally, city dwellers shop for flowers and botanicals at flower markets to fill their home with the most cheerful blooms to celebrate the new year. But many flower growers said that flower markets were not busy this year, leaving them with an oversupply. Nguyen Duy, a flower farm owner in Da Lat City, said that COVID-19 outbreaks in many localities would likely affect people's purchasing power for flowers ahead of Tet festival. Thuy Vu, director of the The Gioi Hoa Tuoi JSC, a wholesale supplier of flowers, said it would not focus on retail sales for the Tet festival this year due to market uncertainty. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Lan, a flower vendor at Ho Thi Ky flower market in HCM City, said flowers stockpiled for the Tet market this year were not as numerous as last year due to concerns over weak purchasing power. Purchasing orders with flower farms are expected to change in the next few days depending on the control of COVID-19, Lan said. Flower farms in Da Lat City have seen a 55 per cent drop in orders from wholesale markets in other cities and provinces, according to a survey of the Da Lat City People’s Committee. The committee, however, has reported a boom in online sales of agricultural produce, flowers and botanicals ahead of Tet. It advised farms to use bank transfer payments for retail orders and to sign contracts with merchants for wholesale orders to ensure the success of online deals. Livestreams Shoppers can find various types of flowers from flower farms and merchants on online shopping platforms. Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy from Biofresh Company in Da Lat City has hosted livestreams via Facebook to guide viewers through different types of flowers and plants available on the farm. Amid the pandemic, live commerce has helped promote and sell products, and engaged potential shoppers, Thuy said. Tran Van Tam, a flower grower in Da Lat …
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VIETNAM BUSINESS NEWS FEBRUARY 9
Demand for top meat drives funding Demand for top meat drives funding In the midst of the rising demand for quality pork, Vietnam has witnessed growing investment in the clean meat market. Last week, AVG Capital Partners, a private equity fund from Russia, signed an MoU with Thanh Hoa People’s Committee to develop a $1.4 billion pork processing complex in Nghi Son Economic Zone. With an area of 1,000 hectares, the complex has a designed capacity to produce five million hogs a year. It will boast 43 commercial pig farms and three hybrid pig farms, a mixed feed factory with a capacity of two million tonnes a year, as well as a slaughterhouse and processing plant with a capacity of 600,000 tonnes a year. Phong Quach, head of business development at Ipsos Strategy3 in Vietnam, said that as a general principle, any high-tech investment in agriculture is good for Vietnam. This is because the Vietnamese agricultural sector is still trying to attract more technology that can provide higher output for both the domestic and export markets. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has identified in its objectives for 2030 that it wants to strive for high-value added agricultural outputs rather than volume. Quach added, “When we take a closer look at different points in the value chain and investments, there are different dynamics in the competition depending on the node we review. The latest investment from AVG Capital Partners is a feed-farm-food (3F) investment encompassing the entire production chain. However, the output capacity of the processing facility is much higher than its supply, with 600,000 tonnes of processed meat against five million hogs a year.” This would suggest that there is still significant opportunity for Vietnamese farms to supply this facility. If AVG Capital Partners is looking to source hogs from Vietnamese farms, this would be a vote of confidence for local farming while epidemics still wreak havoc in the global …
VIETNAM BUSINESS NEWS FEBRUARY 10
HCM City targets domestic market for tourism recovery The Ho Chi Minh City tourism sector this year plans to focus on digitalisation of the industry and promotion of domestic tourism amid a downturn in tourism because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The sector will continue its efforts to boost domestic tourism as the main factor driving the recovery of the tourism industry. The tourism communication and stimulus campaign, ‘Hello Ho Chi Minh City,’ has been implemented to promote the city as a safe, vibrant and friendly destination. Tourism cooperation and linkages between HCM City and the Northeast, Northwest and the Central regions will also serve to boost domestic travel. The city aims to receive 33.5 million domestic visitors this year if COVID-19 remains under control in the country./. Tet sales increase sharply on low prices With a week to go for Tet (the Lunar New Year) sales of goods bought to celebrate the Lunar New Year have increased by 30-40 percent from normal times, according to market observers. They attribute it to prices remaining steady and people’s increasing income at the end of the year. Saigon Co.op’s supermarket chains have managed to meet market demand thanks to early preparation of goods, accurate forecast of demand and discounts, Nguyen Anh Duc, its permanent deputy general director, said. In January sales increased by 37 percent compared to the same period in the previous month, with growth of fresh and processed foods, cosmetics, kitchen appliances, and garments being high, he said. There have been no shortages of goods, especially pork, and no price hikes, he said. Dinh Quang Khoi, head of marketing and customer care at MM Mega Market Vietnam, said customers have bought Tet goods earlier than usual, and retail sales increased by more than 10 percent compare with same periods of last year, while the increase is 5 -6 percent if the wholesale segment is included. Shopping malls in Ho Chi Minh City like Vincom Central …
