"Rotate" the policies to develop wholesale markets

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At large wholesale markets such as Binh Dien market, the management of standards and quality of all goods is not simple.

Difficult management

The data from the Domestic Market Department of the Ministry of Industry and Trade shows that there are more than 8,500 markets in the country. Of which, there are only 83 wholesale markets, accounting for 0.97% of the total markets. Thanh Hoa, Quang Binh, Ha Noi and Dong Thap, etc., are mainly wholesale markets for agricultural products.

Speaking at the seminar ‘Developing wholesale markets in Vietnam’ on 27 June, in Hanoi, Mr. Nguyen Van Hoi, the Deputy Director of Domestic Market Department said: Vietnam has a number of good initial development models but still has some limitations.

Most wholesale markets still use the traditional trading method, and the contractual trade is small. There are no certificates of origin of goods, and goods are mainly collected from the farmers.

In addition, support services such as banking services; insurance services, inspection and quality inspection services, consultancy services and market information are not organized and provided at markets, including large scale wholesale markets.

On the issue of investment capital for wholesale markets, Mr. Hoi added: The investment amount for a market is quite high, about 40 billion VND, while the source from the State budget is very limited. It is worth mentioning that the call for socialization of investment in market construction is posing many challenges.

"Mechanisms and policies to support investment in commercial infrastructure development as well as policies to encourage economic sectors to invest in developing commercial infrastructure, especially for wholesale markets are not appropriate. The beneficiaries are limited, with no preferential policies such as tax, land and credit," said Mr. Hoi.

Regarding this issue, Mr. Dao Ha Chung, Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City Hi-Tech Association HCM added: The management of goods in wholesale markets is quite difficult, and market goods must meet standards and ensure food safety.

"For example, in large markets such as Binh Dien, Hoc Mon, each day, there are many vehicles carrying goods to the market. Thus, the Market Management Board must manage goods to ensure sufficient documents, origin, evaluation of quality and product standards. In addition, there is a need for conditions to manage healthy price competition through the transaction floor to ensure transparent pricing," said Mr. Chung.

Revise the mechanism

To overcome the constraints, promote the development of wholesale markets, Mr. Hoi said that one of the important solutions was to continue perfecting the policy mechanism related to the development of commercial infrastructure. Relevant ministries and agencies shall revise policies to promote investment in commercial infrastructure, including wholesale markets, and review, amend and supplement a number of relevant policies to support investment and develop trade infrastructure.

In addition, the State needs to prioritize investment in the development of road traffic systems linking wholesale markets with residential areas and clusters; economic centers, townships, towns and cities; and concentrated agricultural production area.

Some people argued that it was necessary to monitor and enforce standards to bring goods to market through wholesale markets, related to food hygiene and safety. Measures can be used such as: Decentralizing monitoring from packaging, establishment of traceability mechanisms for production, certification of quality agricultural products along with a series of measures to check, manage the production process, and ensure food safety goods in the market.

According to Mr. Bui Ba Chinh, Head of the National Bar Code Center of Vietnam, at present, the tool code and bar code will help protect manufacturers, distributors as well as consumers.

Currently, many wholesale markets are using bar code technology to manage market products. However, these companies have not followed the global traceability standard, but based on the enterprise's thought.

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Mr. Chinh emphasized,"In the near future, the National Bar Code Center will set up standards of traceability so that all companies in Vietnam do the same standard. At the same time, the solutions and databases that these companies build will connect with each other, creating great value, as well as national and international effectiveness".