WAL-MART Stores Inc. is focusing on food safety as the world’s largest retailer aims to boost profitability of its more than 400 stores in China, Wal-Mart Asia chief executive Scott Price told Reuters.

    “We play an important role in China delivering food safety and quality products to our customers,” Price said on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit, which begins yesterday. “It’s a differentiator.”

    Wal-Mart came under fire in Chinese media earlier in the year after a supplier’s donkey meat product was found to contain fox meat.

    In 2011 Chinese authorities accused Wal-Mart of selling expired duck meat, and it was forced to shut down stores in Chongqing after they were accused of labeling non-organic pork as organic and selling it at a higher price.

    Price was named Tuesday the head of the retailer’s Asia Pacific business, in a move aimed at reviving Wal-Mart’s slowing growth amid stiff competition in the region.

    In China, Price said Wal-Mart has experienced “a few bumps along the road.” China was the only market of Wal-Mart’s five largest ones that saw falling same-store sales in the second quarter, down 1.6 percent from the year-earlier period.

    In Wal-Mart’s global markets, Wal-Mart reported for the six months ended July 31, pre-tax income outside the U.S. down 3 percent to US$11.83 billion from a year-earlier, according to the company’s filings.

    Price said the company would “continue to invest very aggressively” with a focus on food quality and safety to push up traffic to Wal-Mart’s Chinese stores.

    Wal-Mart said in June it would increase its spending on food safety in China to 300 million yuan (US$49 million) in 2013, 2014 and 2015, up from a previously announced 100 million yuan.

    “The ‘fresh’ experience is an area where we can differentiate. We are the only retailer in China that has 100 percent of our ‘fresh’ going through distribution centers,” he said.

    “China is a big part of the future game,” Price added. Last year in October, Wal-Mart announced plans to open up to 110 new facilities in China between 2014 and 2016.(SD-Agencies)