HCM City learns Canada’s experience in running farm produce trading floor
A delegation of Ho Chi Minh City has learned Canada’s experience in operating a farm produce trading platform, during a recent visit to the North American country.
The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) has helped many Canadian businesses to enter the Vietnamese market while Vietnamese firms have yet to find out effective ways to explore the Canadian market.
At a recent meeting with the HCM City delegation, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs of Ontario province Lisa Thompson introduced the Ontario Food Terminal (OFT), which could become a gateway for products and tropical fruits of Vietnam to enter Canada and also a model for Vietnam to consider to apply.
Thompson’s visit to the Southeast Asian country in February and the HCM City delegation’s latest trip showed both sides’ great interest in agricultural cooperation, especially the development of a farm produce trading platform for both the southeastern and southwestern regions of Vietnam, Tran Thu Quynh, Trade Counsellor of the Vietnamese Embassy in Canada, told the Vietnam News Agency.
The OFT is the largest wholesale fruit and produce distribution centre in Canada and the third largest in North America. It comprises a market for over 400 farmers to directly trade their produce and a cold storage zone with 20 warehouses for wholesalers.
It operates under strict supervision of a board set up by the Ontario Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
Nguyen Ngoc Hoa, Chairman of the HCM City Union of Business Associations, said that the OFT is a model supported by the state but operated by enterprises via a board of persons directly running the terminal. It also connects exporters with importers who are always ready to offer help in terms of procedures to import goods into Canada.
At the OFT, all products must meet food safety and packaging standards. Transactions here are also transparent, helping qualified products be put up for sale in Canada or exported to other countries.
Hoa held that the OFT is a business model worth learning, noting it doesn’t simply pursue profit but also serves the interests of those engaging in the terminal.