Hanoi (VNA) – A seminar on policy orientations for win-win cooperation ingoods distribution between Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) took placein Hanoi on September 4.

Theevent was co-organised by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT)’s DomesticMarkets Department and the RoK-based Reshaping Development Institute.

Speakingat the seminar, Tran Duy Dong, head of the department, said as part of aproject on comprehensively developing Vietnam’s distribution industry, a groupof Vietnamese and Korean researchers have published a report on the win-wincooperation policy and ways to boost competitiveness and growth of theVietnamese sector.

Accordingto the group, the core issue that challenges the development of the industry isa conflict between the modern and large-scale distribution system and thetraditional market model.

Dongsaid the MoIT will continue working to modernize the distribution industry andcreate a balance between the modern and traditional systems.

KangMin Ho, general director of LOTTE Mart Vietnam, said his company has signed anagreement with the Korea International Cooperation Agency to support theproject, adding that both sides highly value the growth of the Vietnamesedistribution market.

NguyenThanh, Director of the Thua Thien – Hue Department of Industry and Trade, saidtraditional markets face difficulties related to outdated infrastructure aswell as food safety and product origin problems.

Consumers,particularly in urban areas, are switching to shopping at malls and buyingproducts online, thus causing the system to become stagnant, he added.

Thanhsaid there is a need for investment in improving these markets’ infrastructureand developing professional operations and services at wholesale markets.Capacity training for market managers and the promotion of technologicalapplication among sellers are also necessary, he said.-VNA