HCM City (VNS/VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City's Department of Industryand Trade held a conference on January 14 to review the activities andperformance of the food and foodstuff sector in 2020 and consider plans for thenew year.

Ly Kim Chi, Chairwoman of the HCM City Food and Foodstuff Association,said the sector’s output last year was only 0.7 percent down from 2019, thanksto efforts by the government to both combat the COVID-19 pandemic and keep theeconomy growing.

As for plans for 2021, she called on the department to organise moretrade promotions to help businesses promote their products and expand theirmarket.

Besides, there has been a surge in demand for healthy foods andimmune-boosting, natural and organic produce globally, including in Vietnam,amid the pandemic.

Vu Ba Phu, Director of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency, said cookingand eating at home has become increasingly common and HCM City’s food industrymust be in tune with this trend to sustain development.

At the same time, consumers have become increasingly aware ofenvironmental protection, especially in affluent markets.

The global market for plant-based foods and products replacing meat isestimated to reach 480.43 billion USD by 2024, which offers producers of theseproducts a great opportunity, he said.

Globally consumers want food brands to be more transparent by providinginformation about their supply chain and consistent nutrition information whileenhancing environmental protection, he said.

They also want food brands to come up with more plant-based products andthose that could be cooked in multiple ways, he said.

“By ensuring traceability, enterprises will have an opportunity to raisethe competitiveness of their products, their brands’ prestige and their profilein the market,".

Delegates quoted recent market research as saying products with traceabilityand reliable quality with embedded sustainable economic, social, andenvironmental values are favoured by consumers.

To survive and thrive, food producers must adopt new business models bycombining online and offline distribution, embrace digitisation, applytechnology in the value chain from farm to table, and improve product qualityand value and the customer experience, they added./.