The Hoa Cuong Wholesale Market on Le Thanh Nghi is now Da Nang’s largest wholesale market with 431 stalls inside and around 800 others outside. 

The market receives an average of between 310 and 330 tons of products every day, including around 170 tons of fruit from both northern and southern localities.  These products are then transported to supermarkets and the smaller markets across the city.  In these days leading up to the Tet Festival, the volume of fruit is expected to increase to 1,000 tons per day.   

Buyers at a broccoli stall in the Hoa Cuong Wholesale Market

Before being transported to the market’s wholesalers, the products are divided into large baskets and bags without their labels of origin.  As a result, local relevant agencies find it very difficult to trace the origins of the products, and no one knows exactly where they have come from, except for the wholesalers themselves.  Most of the wholesalers have affirmed that their products are sourced from domestic localities, including Ha Noi, Hai Duong and Da Lat, or from such foreign countries as Thailand and Laos, but not China.

Recently, over 900 samples of vegetables and fruit were collected from the market to be tested, and 90% had no trace of microbiological and toxic chemicals.  However, consumers still have worries about poor hygiene, contamination, and the use of banned substances in the production process.  Even experienced sellers of particular items are finding it very hard to establish the exact origin of their products.

A cauliflower seller at the market said that her products are mainly sourced from Da Lat, but she does not know how to distinguish between cauliflowers from Da Lat and China because they look the same.

The municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is developing a plan for interprovincial controls of vegetables and fruit.  They aim to be able to trace the exact origins of a product in order to supply safe food to customers.