Transparency of the pork market from the trading floor

Fragmented market, difficult to control

Records at 2 wholesale markets in Hoc Mon and Binh Dien show that, although the source of goods is quite abundant, prices have been listed and traceability has been implemented, purchasing power is still unable to compete with spontaneous selling points outside. The main reason is that outside selling points take goods from many sources of unknown origin, without quarantine documents, so the price is lower than the market, attracting many buyers.

According to leaders of wholesale markets, "illegal" points of sale often operate in the early morning, without business registration, without veterinary quarantine. Meat is transported from small slaughterhouses, sold quickly on sidewalks or residential areas; when functional forces appear, the dispersion of goods takes place in a very short time, causing difficulties for management. In that context, the formation of a pork trading floor is expected to create a shift in market transparency.

Mr. Le Van Tien - Director of Hoc Mon Wholesale Market - said that when the floor goes into operation, the entire buying and selling process will be carried out on the electronic system, with information about prices, output, and origin being clearly publicized. "This not only helps management agencies control better but also limits speculation and price manipulation, thereby creating a more transparent and fair price level for the market" - Mr. Tien emphasized.

Faced with pressure from cost and supply fluctuations, Ho Chi Minh City is gradually completing the foundation to move towards a more modern and transparent market operating mechanism. Not only ensuring supply, the city also sets a goal to restructure the entire chain from production, slaughtering to distribution, towards forming a verifiable price level.

According to Mr. Nguyen Nguyen Phuong - Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade, the city has many favorable conditions to implement advanced management models. With a consumption scale of more than 25,000 billion VND per year, a stable system of two wholesale markets, along with 5 industrial slaughterhouses and an efficiently operating electronic traceability platform, Ho Chi Minh City has a great advantage to connect the supply chain.

Completing the supply chain, towards the exchange

However, to realize this goal, infrastructure and the reorganization of the slaughtering system are still key steps.

Mr. Vo Thanh Giau - Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Agriculture and Environment - said that the city is completing a plan to rearrange the slaughterhouse system. Currently, there are 86 facilities with a capacity of 8,000-9,000 livestock and more than 100,000 poultry per day, but only meet about 50-60% of the demand. "Many small-scale facilities do not meet veterinary, environmental and food safety requirements; the urbanization process also causes some facilities located in residential areas to generate pollution" - Mr. Giau said. Therefore, the upcoming direction is to develop centralized, large-scale slaughterhouses, applying modern technology to ensure stable supply and good control of diseases and food safety. From a management perspective, Mr. Tran Huu Linh - Director of the Domestic Market Management and Development Department requested to reorganize the market in a public and transparent direction. Price listing associated with traceability will contribute to improving transaction quality, regulating supply and demand and forming a clear price level. Businesses and traders are still allowed to participate but must standardize and publicize quality and prices to improve operational efficiency and protect livestock farmers.