Hanoi (VNS/VNA) — Many Vietnamese 🦋firms are trying to display their productsin foreign supermarket chains to sell them abroad, but it is not an easy task,according to insiders.

To Huynh, a leading member of Surifarm Organic Vegetables LTD.,anticipates that his firm’s dry foods would easily satisfy customers in otherregional countries. However, it was quite difficult to export the foods to thosecountries via supermarket chains, due to stiff local competition and highlogistic costs. High logistic costs put obstacles in the way of small firmstrying to enter foreign markets, he said. The firm leader also said that big companies would copy smallfirms' strategies once they saw the latter earning high profits in themarkets. As a result, small firms entering new markets via retail chainswould end up competing with both local producers and big names. Nguyen Thi Thu Hien, external relations manager of CentralRetail Vietnam, underlined technology as the key to cost optimisation andbetter supply chain management. She recommended that Vietnamese firms accelerate technologyapplications to cut costs further and improve product quality to boost theircoverage in foreign retail chains. Health, environmentally-friendly and local products are becomingmore appealing to customers of all segments, she said. Truong To Uyen, director of the purchasing department of aforeign retailer, revealed that Vietnamese firms had to go through fourstages before their products could be put on sale in foreignsupermarkets. The four stages include dossier approval, negotiation andsigning contracts, adding the supplier data to the system, and orderand delivery./.