AEON Hong Kong switches to Vietnamese bananas

Japanese retailer AEON has replaced Philippine and Taiwanese bananas with Vietnamese imports at its Hong Kong outlets.

AEON started selling Vietnamese bananas at its 91 outlets in Hong Kong last year because they are of high quality and grown using a process that does not result in waste, Yuichiro Shiotani, CEO of AEON Topvalu Vietnam, said at a forum Friday.

“This process meets AEON’s sustainability criteria.”

Apart from prices, environment friendliness and quick delivery are now top priorities for retailers, he added.

The company plans to double its purchase of Vietnamese bananas this year and also switch exclusively to Vietnamese mangoes instead Thai and Philippine varieties.

Mirash Basheer, CEO of May Exports Vietnam, a division of LuLu Group International, a major retailer headquartered in the United Arab Emirates, said there is increasing demand for Vietnamese goods, especially those that meet green production requirements.

May Exports Vietnam plans to buy more cashew from Vietnam, along with other products such as canned fruit juice, coconut juice and canned tuna.

U.S. retailer Walmart said it buys from around 500 suppliers in Vietnam, but most are foreign-owned companies with Vietnamese ones mostly being secondary suppliers.

More Vietnamese goods could reach American consumers if they meet sustainability criteria, a spokesperson for the retailer said.

Do Ngoc hung, a trade consultant for Vietnam in the U.S., said Vietnamese businesses should study the requirements of U.S. distributors such as Walmart, Costco and Amazon, who all require green products.