HCM City push to semi-process produce
HCM City push to semi-process produce
The HCM City Department of Industry and Trade is pushing for semi-processing agricultural products in Lam Dong Province before transferring them to wholesale markets in an aim to reduce vegetable waste and save costs.
Lam Dong was chosen as the first province for the project to encourage more washing, filtering and packaging of products.
The three main wholesale markets, Binh Dien, Thu Duc and Hoc Mon, in HCM City receive about 9,200 tonnes of agricultural goods and discharge around 240 tonnes of waste. Ninety per cent of the waste comes from processing products.
The three markets spend around VND2 billion (US$87,000) per month treating waste.
Bui The, deputy director of the Department of Industry and Commerce in Lam Dong, said the province was instructing producers and traders to supply semi-processed products to HCM City as it could help save costs on waste treatment and frequent sterilisation of the wholesale market.
The HCM City Department of Industry and Trade said that semi-processing of harvested goods would preserve them longer, meaning fewer crops would spoil via transport from the provinces to HCM City.
Dr. Vo Mai, deputy chairwoman of the Viet Nam Horticulturists’ Association, said waste from agro-products and food after semi-processing could be used to produce organic fertilisers.
Lam Dong Province and HCM City are working together on standardising semi-processing procedures that every farming household must follow.
Bui The said that many businesses lacked the resources to process and package a large amount of harvested goods quickly.
Currently, radishes and white radishes in Lam Dong are semi-processed before being transported to HCM City. More types of vegetables will go through a similar process in the future.
Nguyen Huynh Trang, deputy director of HCM City Department of Industry and Trade, said that harvested vegetables should be processed and packaged to the same standards as vegetables sold in supermarkets.
“Farmers and co-operatives need to be educated on this so that in the future, all agricultural produce is properly processed and packaged, with clear labels. HCM City wholesale markets should also only buy semi-processed goods,” she said.
This policy is part of the city’s plan to develop agricultural brands, provide more high quality products with clear origins, and promote trade between HCM City and other provinces.
