Taking initiative in food supply for Hanoi

On August 12, Deputy Minister of Agricultural and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien and the Northern Special Task Force of the Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development inspected the operation of livestock breeding and cattle slaughter at Dong Thanh Hanoi Joint Stock Company in the district of Dong Anh.

According to Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien, with the lesson from Ho Chi Minh City and Southern provinces, Hanoi City and Northern provinces must make plans in advance to be proactive in dealing with the difficulties and the disruption of the supply chain of agricultural products in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Deputy Minister Tien cited: Currently, the agricultural production chains of 18 provinces and cities in the Southern region and Ho Chi Minh City are facing difficulties. In recent days, the supply of meat in Ho Chi Minh City has met only 50% of the demand of the city. The main reason is that due to the Covid-19 pandemic slaughterhouses' operations are disrupted while the facilities able to operate are in difficult situation.

Three wholesale markets including Hoc Mon, Binh Dien and Thu Duc were all paralyzed. In Hanoi, apart from the Long Bien and Minh Khai wholesale markets and the wholesale market in southern Hanoi have been temporarily closed while 29 trade centers, 459 wet markets together with 1,800 selling places and 780 convenient stores remain operating. Therefore, the city must take the initiative in making plans for food supply in the area to proactively prevent and control the disease in case the pandemic may last for a long time.

General Director of Dong Thanh Hanoi JSC Tran Xuan Minh said that in the context of complicated situation of the Covid-19 pandemic in Hanoi and its neighboring localities, the company has actively operated in accordance with the model of circular agricultural economy to create closed supply-demand chains in order to minimize the impact of the pandemic as well as to ensure the supply of beef to consumers.

Dong Thanh Hanoi JSC. has a 7-hectare slaughterhouse and a 20-hectare farming area raising around 15,000 cows. The company imported 45,000 live cows in 2018 and 86,000 cows in 2019, 65,000 cows in 2020 and in 2021, the company has just imported 25,000 live cows, mainly from Australia.

Dong Thanh Hanoi Jsc. is now both slaughtering and selling live cattle to the Northern provinces and cities including Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Thai Nguyen,Vinh Phuc and Hanoi City. The company can import one cargo ship a month so it is able to supply 10,000 live cows to the market, contributing to keeping the prices stable in 2-3 months as currently  

Trang Xuan Minh suggested that in order to facilitate enterprises in the transportation, the measures on the Covid-19 prevention and control should be taken in accordance with the Government's regulations and provinces' provisions rather than the specific regulations of each district. If the pandemic lasts long the large food suppliers need to be supported by mechanisms and policies.

In addition, if the pandemic lasts long,  in case that the areas where slaughterhouses situated are put under Covid-19 lockdown, it's necessary to organize slaughtering sites outside the lockdown zones to keep the operation in order to ensure meat supply for Hanoi city.

Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien highly appreciated the efforts of Dong Thanh Hanoi Joint Stock Company in organizing livestock production and slaughter in the complicated situation of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Deputy Minister Tien asked the company's leaders to ensure the supply of beef for Hanoi and the Northern provinces as well as ensure food hygiene and safety. Be proactive in making plans to support food suppliers when the pandemic has not been fully controlled.

According to Dong Thanh Hanoi JSC. with a herd of 63,000 cattle head, it is confident enough to take part in the food supply chain in Hanoi and the Northern provinces, and at the same time providing food for the Southern provinces and cities.