At the workshop (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) - A new Ho Chi Minh City regulation would make itmandatory for all agricultural products and foodstuffs to have traceability andgeographical indications, and require packaging and branding under VietGAPstandards to ensure food hygiene and safety.
The new regulation, if approved, will be applied to retailers, wholesalers anddistribution systems in the city.
Speaking at a workshop held last week in the city, Nguyen Huynh Trang, deputydirector of the municipal Department of Industry and Trade, said the city wasworking with the Food Safety Management Board to pilot an integratedfood-safety management model for agricultural products and foodstuffs in thecity and the southern key economic region.
The model requires cooperation between linkages associated with the sale ofagricultural products via value chains to ensure food safety, she said.
Currently, HCM City and the provinces in the southern key economic region onlyconform to biosafety production standards because of a legal requirement. Inaddition, the application of VietGAP standards is still not compulsory.
Over the years, the city has promoted effective management of production andconsumption chains of agricultural products, with traceability and geographicalindications to ensure food hygiene and safety for consumers.
However, the production scale remains small, and products, mostly raw ones, areonly preliminary processed.
The number of enterprises heavily investing in agricultural production stillaccounts for a low rate. In addition, wholesale markets associated withconcentrated production areas have not developed in a coordinated way.
The city’s food safety management is overseen by its Food Safety ManagementBoard and Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Food-safety project
Tran Tien Khai, head of the project management board at the HCM City Universityof Economics, said the city has assigned the university to work with theDepartment of Industry and Trade and localities in the region on a project “toenhance cooperation and production linkages associated with the consumption ofagricultural products to ensure food safety”.
The project will propose solutions to increase quality and yield in sustainablefood value chains to ensure food safety for the domestic market as well as forexports, he said.
Trang said it was important to connect production and consumption ofagricultural products, especially high-quality agricultural products.
Linking businesses with farmers would help the latter sell products at stableprices and reduce risks, she said.
Farmers receiving investment from companies would receive agricultural seedsand materials at low interest rates and with more reliable quality. As aresult, farmers would be able to better assure production and implementtechnical measures, and increase productivity and output.
Farmers would also be able to organise production on a larger scale and volume,lowering production costs and increasing incomes.
For their part, companies would offer farmers commitments on quantity, quality,and time for product supply through affiliate contracts, according to Trang.
Recently the city People’s Committee proposed a plan worth more than 840billion VND (36.5 million USD) to ensure food safety in the city’s agriculturalsector over the next five years to the Ministry of Planning and Investment andthe Ministry of Finance.
Under the plan, the food-safety management system and infrastructure would beimproved, and as a result, would help reduce food poisoning cases, disease andpollution. Of the total investment, nearly 30 million USD is sourced from ODAloans, while the remainder comes from the city budget.
The southern key economic region includes HCM City and the provinces of Dong Nai,Binh Duong, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Binh Phuoc, Tay Ninh, Long An and Tien Giang.
The region has a population of more than 20 million. Each year the regionconsumes up to 1.5 million tonnes of rice, 500,000 tonnes of meat, 800,000tonnes of seafood, 3 million tonnes of vegetables, and 1,500 million eggs./.
The new regulation, if approved, will be applied to retailers, wholesalers anddistribution systems in the city.
Speaking at a workshop held last week in the city, Nguyen Huynh Trang, deputydirector of the municipal Department of Industry and Trade, said the city wasworking with the Food Safety Management Board to pilot an integratedfood-safety management model for agricultural products and foodstuffs in thecity and the southern key economic region.
The model requires cooperation between linkages associated with the sale ofagricultural products via value chains to ensure food safety, she said.
Currently, HCM City and the provinces in the southern key economic region onlyconform to biosafety production standards because of a legal requirement. Inaddition, the application of VietGAP standards is still not compulsory.
Over the years, the city has promoted effective management of production andconsumption chains of agricultural products, with traceability and geographicalindications to ensure food hygiene and safety for consumers.
However, the production scale remains small, and products, mostly raw ones, areonly preliminary processed.
The number of enterprises heavily investing in agricultural production stillaccounts for a low rate. In addition, wholesale markets associated withconcentrated production areas have not developed in a coordinated way.
The city’s food safety management is overseen by its Food Safety ManagementBoard and Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Food-safety project
Tran Tien Khai, head of the project management board at the HCM City Universityof Economics, said the city has assigned the university to work with theDepartment of Industry and Trade and localities in the region on a project “toenhance cooperation and production linkages associated with the consumption ofagricultural products to ensure food safety”.
The project will propose solutions to increase quality and yield in sustainablefood value chains to ensure food safety for the domestic market as well as forexports, he said.
Trang said it was important to connect production and consumption ofagricultural products, especially high-quality agricultural products.
Linking businesses with farmers would help the latter sell products at stableprices and reduce risks, she said.
Farmers receiving investment from companies would receive agricultural seedsand materials at low interest rates and with more reliable quality. As aresult, farmers would be able to better assure production and implementtechnical measures, and increase productivity and output.
Farmers would also be able to organise production on a larger scale and volume,lowering production costs and increasing incomes.
For their part, companies would offer farmers commitments on quantity, quality,and time for product supply through affiliate contracts, according to Trang.
Recently the city People’s Committee proposed a plan worth more than 840billion VND (36.5 million USD) to ensure food safety in the city’s agriculturalsector over the next five years to the Ministry of Planning and Investment andthe Ministry of Finance.
Under the plan, the food-safety management system and infrastructure would beimproved, and as a result, would help reduce food poisoning cases, disease andpollution. Of the total investment, nearly 30 million USD is sourced from ODAloans, while the remainder comes from the city budget.
The southern key economic region includes HCM City and the provinces of Dong Nai,Binh Duong, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Binh Phuoc, Tay Ninh, Long An and Tien Giang.
The region has a population of more than 20 million. Each year the regionconsumes up to 1.5 million tonnes of rice, 500,000 tonnes of meat, 800,000tonnes of seafood, 3 million tonnes of vegetables, and 1,500 million eggs./.
VNA
