Ho Chi Minh City to officially launch pork trading floor by end-April

Ho Chi Minh City has begun a technical pilot of a pork trading floor, with the aim of moving to formal operation by the end of April. The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade said the number of transactions conducted through the floor has risen steadily during the pilot phase, showing early positive results for the commodity exchange.

Pilot timeline and purpose

Deputy Director Nguyen Nguyen Phuong said the city launched the technical pilot on April 6 to identify any difficulties or obstacles before announcing formal operation on April 30.

During the initial phase, participants trading on the floor organized logistics according to buyers’ requirements and ran promotional programs with prices described as better than those offered by many suppliers or wholesale traders in the market.

Early trading activity

After 10 days, participants are expected to calculate how many pigs and carcasses they can sell to help balance supply and demand going forward, Mr. Phuong said.

Mr. Phuong added that participants view the pilot as an opportunity, even though initial prices may not be profitable and could result in losses. He said profit prospects are expected to improve as trading activity becomes more active.

Transaction growth during the first days

Deputy Head of the Trade Management Division Nguyen Minh Hung said that on the first day of the pilot, only two transactions were executed. The next day, this increased to six orders involving 39 pork carcasses, and subsequent days saw higher trading volume.

Hung said the early results have also attracted interest from wholesale market traders. After a few days, many wholesale traders contacted the Department of Industry and Trade to register for floor trading.

He said that once a unit contacts to open an account, it can participate in “one minute and thirty seconds,” and the department is ready to provide support to facilitate participation.

Supply-chain shortening and price stabilization

Hung said the floor is designed to shorten the supply chain from farms to near-retail outlets to reach consumers. The approach is intended to improve quality and traceability while optimizing costs at each stage, helping retail prices stabilize and supporting fair profits for participants.

Potential gains for small traders

Hung pointed to a wide price gap, particularly affecting small traders operating in markets. He said that today a small trader earns only a few hundred thousand dong in profit daily, while floor trading could raise that to over one million dong for these traders.

He acknowledged that persuading small traders or wholesale market merchants to shift to floor trading is difficult due to long-standing business habits. However, he said the initial results and continued efforts should help increase the number of floor participants.

Retail systems registered to trade

Mr. Phuong said two retail systems—MM Mega Market and Bach Hoa Xanh—have registered to trade. He said Bach Hoa Xanh is expected to conduct pilot trading on the floor within the next 1–2 days.

Next steps for the technical run

Phuong said the current phase is only a technical run, but many participants are actively involved and have adjusted logistics to meet floor requirements, which he described as challenging but achievable. The Department of Industry and Trade said it continues to mobilize more participants and is hopeful that, based on the initial results and growing participation, the pork trading floor in Ho Chi Minh City will operate effectively and bring benefits to both the market and consumers.