At the Hoc Mon wholesale market (Photo: thegioitiepthi.danviet.vn) HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Wholesale markets in Ho Chi MinhCity will be gradually reformed to better serve both buyers and sellers andkeep pace with socio-economic development trends, according to the municipalDepartment of Industry and Trade.
There are three major agricultural and food wholesale markets: BinhDien in district 8, Thu Duc in Thu Duc city and Hoc Mon in Hoc Mon district.
They receive up to 8,000 tonnes of goods every night on average,including vegetables, fruits, meats, and seafood.
The wholesale markets play an important role in supplyingespecially essential items to the city, the department said.
But Nguyen Nguyen Phuong, deputy director of the department, saidthey are overloaded and have shortcomings, and have failed to keep up withsocio-economic development.
Their infrastructure and technology use are limited, oversight andcontrol of food hygiene and safety is difficult and impromptu selling in theirvicinity is rampant and lack oversight, he said.
At the Binh Dien Wholesale Market, for instance, many illegalagricultural and food sellers sell on the street and sidewalk, and discardgarbage around them, posing food safety and sanitation risks and significantlyaffecting small traders at the market, he said.
Switch to modern models needed
At a recent conference on the future development of wholesalemarkets in the city, experts emphasised the urgent need for investing inupgrading their facilities, standardising operating procedures and embracingdigital transformation.
Wholesale markets face challenges due to the rise in onlineshopping and changing customer behaviours, and digital transformation couldhelp them overcome challenges, they said.
Phuong said e-commerce is growing at 20-305a year, with HCM Citybeing among the leaders in the list, and so, to adapt to the new situation, itswholesale markets could not ignore the trend of digital transformation ofbusinesses.
HCM City seeks to build a new wholesale market model that meetsfive requirements: modern and ensuring hygiene and food safety and reliablesupply, having systems to control the quality of inputs until they aretransported to retail points, brand building and export orientation, anefficient management apparatus, and ensuring the management and operation ofwholesale markets in line with the context of digital transformation, he said.
According to a research group from the University of Economics andLaw (Vietnam National University, HCM City), the digital transformation of thethree wholesale markets can be carried out in three stages: digitaltransformation of their business models and management models and incorporationof technologies to create new products and services.
Nguyen Thanh Hoa at the city’s Department of Information andCommunications said relevant parties need to pay attention to the four basicpillars of digital transformation: human resources, new business processes,technology, and data.
If any of these four elements is missing, the digitaltransformation process would face many difficulties and have a low successrate, he added.
Phan Thanh Tan, Director of the Binh Dien Market Management andTrading Company, said there is great focus on digital transformation to bettermanage the wholesale market.
It has studied information technology models and learned from thesuccessful digital transformation of wholesale markets in developed countriesto select appropriate technologies and models, he said.
The company has also urged traders, partners and employees tolimit the use of cash and adopt information technology for tracing pork origins(using identification rings), adding that it has also enhance the use oftechnologies in its management and access control system, he said.
Stepping up food inspections
At the three wholesale markets in HCM City, inspection of goodsorigins and environmental sanitation are regularly carried out, according tothe city’s Department of Food Safety.
Its units and the markets’ management also regularly remindtraders not to use chemicals and preservatives in fruits and vegetables, itsaid.
Its management team No. 10, stationed at the Binh Dien market,regularly checks the quality of goods and takes samples of all items that enterthe market to test for borax, it added.
Nguyen Van Sac, head of the team, said: "We are inspectingall agricultural products to ensure they contain no banned substances.Particularly, We conduct more regular tests of some high-risk items. Only goodsthat have all indicators within allowable levels and clear documents areallowed to enter the market.”
According to the department’s management team No. 9 at the Hoc MonWholesale Market, nearly 500 samples of pork, vegetables and fruits were testedlast year, and all met food safety standards.
Speaking about unregulated trading around wholesale markets, PhamKhanh Phong Lan, director of the department, said the city has establishedteams to focus on dealing with this “headache.”/.
There are three major agricultural and food wholesale markets: BinhDien in district 8, Thu Duc in Thu Duc city and Hoc Mon in Hoc Mon district.
They receive up to 8,000 tonnes of goods every night on average,including vegetables, fruits, meats, and seafood.
The wholesale markets play an important role in supplyingespecially essential items to the city, the department said.
But Nguyen Nguyen Phuong, deputy director of the department, saidthey are overloaded and have shortcomings, and have failed to keep up withsocio-economic development.
Their infrastructure and technology use are limited, oversight andcontrol of food hygiene and safety is difficult and impromptu selling in theirvicinity is rampant and lack oversight, he said.
At the Binh Dien Wholesale Market, for instance, many illegalagricultural and food sellers sell on the street and sidewalk, and discardgarbage around them, posing food safety and sanitation risks and significantlyaffecting small traders at the market, he said.
Switch to modern models needed
At a recent conference on the future development of wholesalemarkets in the city, experts emphasised the urgent need for investing inupgrading their facilities, standardising operating procedures and embracingdigital transformation.
Wholesale markets face challenges due to the rise in onlineshopping and changing customer behaviours, and digital transformation couldhelp them overcome challenges, they said.
Phuong said e-commerce is growing at 20-305a year, with HCM Citybeing among the leaders in the list, and so, to adapt to the new situation, itswholesale markets could not ignore the trend of digital transformation ofbusinesses.
HCM City seeks to build a new wholesale market model that meetsfive requirements: modern and ensuring hygiene and food safety and reliablesupply, having systems to control the quality of inputs until they aretransported to retail points, brand building and export orientation, anefficient management apparatus, and ensuring the management and operation ofwholesale markets in line with the context of digital transformation, he said.
According to a research group from the University of Economics andLaw (Vietnam National University, HCM City), the digital transformation of thethree wholesale markets can be carried out in three stages: digitaltransformation of their business models and management models and incorporationof technologies to create new products and services.
Nguyen Thanh Hoa at the city’s Department of Information andCommunications said relevant parties need to pay attention to the four basicpillars of digital transformation: human resources, new business processes,technology, and data.
If any of these four elements is missing, the digitaltransformation process would face many difficulties and have a low successrate, he added.
Phan Thanh Tan, Director of the Binh Dien Market Management andTrading Company, said there is great focus on digital transformation to bettermanage the wholesale market.
It has studied information technology models and learned from thesuccessful digital transformation of wholesale markets in developed countriesto select appropriate technologies and models, he said.
The company has also urged traders, partners and employees tolimit the use of cash and adopt information technology for tracing pork origins(using identification rings), adding that it has also enhance the use oftechnologies in its management and access control system, he said.
Stepping up food inspections
At the three wholesale markets in HCM City, inspection of goodsorigins and environmental sanitation are regularly carried out, according tothe city’s Department of Food Safety.
Its units and the markets’ management also regularly remindtraders not to use chemicals and preservatives in fruits and vegetables, itsaid.
Its management team No. 10, stationed at the Binh Dien market,regularly checks the quality of goods and takes samples of all items that enterthe market to test for borax, it added.
Nguyen Van Sac, head of the team, said: "We are inspectingall agricultural products to ensure they contain no banned substances.Particularly, We conduct more regular tests of some high-risk items. Only goodsthat have all indicators within allowable levels and clear documents areallowed to enter the market.”
According to the department’s management team No. 9 at the Hoc MonWholesale Market, nearly 500 samples of pork, vegetables and fruits were testedlast year, and all met food safety standards.
Speaking about unregulated trading around wholesale markets, PhamKhanh Phong Lan, director of the department, said the city has establishedteams to focus on dealing with this “headache.”/.
VNA