Its first batch of farm exports compriseyellow sweet potato, purple sweet potato, dragon fruit, dried fruits, and ricepaper.
It follows joint efforts by the supermarketand farmers in provinces of Lam Dong and Binh Thuan and other places to meetthe quality requirements of business partners.
Phidsanu Pongwatana, Managing Director ofMM Mega Market Vietnam, said: “As soon as we got the export licence, we movedquickly to understand the needs of our business partners in Thailand and lookfor domestic goods with a competitive edge that we can supply.
“This does not only offer a richlydiversified and competitive source of supply to the Big C system in Thailand,but can also help Vietnamese farmers bring their quality agricultural productsto other countries in the region.”
While dragon fruit is the main item in theconsignment, it also has more than 45 tonnes of sweet potatoes.
The purchasing division in Thailand hassaid Vietnamese agricultural products have unique advantages, especially sweetpotatoes, whose supply is reliable and offers high quality and safetystandards.
Vietnamese farm products are thereforelikely to see large orders and for long terms.
“In addition to steady orders of over 100tonnes a month, we are also working on exporting an average of 50 tonnes offrozen catfish filet a month,” Pongwatana said.
He said the potential for Vietnameseexports looked great because of the 700-plus malls and supermarket distributionchannel of Big C.
MM Mega Market Vietnam’s export strategy isbuilt on a professional platform system and direct interaction with farmers tocreate a quality and diverse source of supply.
The company has three hubs, which it calls"platforms": for fruits and vegetables in Da Lat, for fish in CanTho, and for pork in Dong Nai. A fruit hub is taking shape in Ben Tre.
These facilities, which also includewarehouses, not only supply the company’s 19-store domestic distribution systembut also help provide quality products for exports.
Besides exporting, MM also providestechnical assistance and market research to local exporters trying to reach theThai market.
It helped export more than 1,200 tonnes ofdragon fruit and several other agricultural products last year.-VNS/VNA