Illegal street markets around the Bình Điền Wholesale Market in HCM City’s District 8. Photo sggp.org.vn

HCM CITY – HCM City has instructed grassroots officials to immediately remove illegal street markets to ensure food safety and hygiene during Tết (Lunar New Year).

Vice Chairwoman of the city People's Committee, Phan Thị Thắng, held a meeting with the management of the Hóc Môn Wholesale Market in the namesake district on January 27 to dismantle unauthorised markets in its surroundings.

Thắng said even food is sold in the illegal street markets but without clear origins or quality oversight, posing a risk to people's health.

With the Tết holiday close, top priority must be given to safety, quality control and compliance with pandemic prevention requirements, and allowing unauthorised markets to function near wholesale markets without being subject to any control is “unreasonable,” she said.

Such markets, where street vendors sell mostly agricultural produce and other common consumer items, usually crop up on pavements to meet people’s needs not met by supermarkets and other stores, but are not part of the city’s plans, she said.

Vendors set up stalls on pavements and sell items like seafood and vegetables near rubbish, decaying leaves and wastewater, which pose a serious risk.

Their products are often of questionable origin and food safety is a big issue, and, needless to say, authorities frequently crack down on them. – VNS