The bustling southern metropolis is already the country’s biggest pork consumer, swallowing 13,000–14,000 heads daily and generating an annual market worth over VND25 trillion (US$960 million).

Nguyen Nguyen Phuong, Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Industry and Trade, said listing pork on the MXV will finally give consumers and firms more stable prices, while slapping on stricter food safety rules and making it easier to track where the meat actually comes from. Farmers, meanwhile, stand to gain from more predictable margins and dodge fewer of the supply-demand imbalances that routinely distort prices.

The city expects the pilot trading model to balance interests among farmers, distributors and end consumers. Authorities also plan to step up communications and hands-on guidance to ease supply chain players onto the new platform, Phuong said.

Preparations for the pilot are already underway, including proposals for traceability solutions to make sure everything transparent once trading begins.

A MXV representative said the model will centre on post-slaughter pork carcasses that meet strict quality, food safety and traceability criteria. The pilot will remain voluntary and run side-by-side with traditional distribution channels to avoid any disruption while ensuring full regulatory compliance.

Tran Huu Linh, Director General of the Agency for Domestic Market Surveillance and Development under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said tying exchange-listed prices to traceability will lift delivery standards, safeguard food safety, better regulate supply and demand, and finally create a price benchmark for the market.

According to him, the department has been urged to quickly finalise a detailed roadmap, with a big push on communications so that farmers get the picture, slowly jump on board with exchange trading, cut out price manipulation and make the whole market way more professional.

The agency will work closely with the city during the preparation and pilot rollout, while offering guidance on regulatory and policy mechanisms to keep everything within the existing laws.

If the pilot actually works, it could get rolled out nationwide, setting up clear reference prices for pork and helping domestic livestock industry grow in a more sustainable way for years to come, he added.

Pork trading floor to be launched in HCM City

A cooperation agreement on forming a pork trading floor in Ho Chi Minh City was signed on August 14 between the municipal Departments of Industry and Trade, and Agriculture and Rural Development, and the Mercantile Exchange of Vietnam (MXV).