The HCMC government will shut down all the old slaughterhouses in the city, except for Trung Tuyen in Can Gio District, by September 30 and replace them with modern ones to ensure food hygiene and safety, Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper reported, citing a newly issued decision from the municipal government.

Pigs are slaughtered at a factory of Vissan

Under the city’s Decision 300/QD-UBND on slaughter facilities in the city, by September 30, six modern slaughter factories with a combined daily capacity of 10,000-15,000 cattle will be put into operation.

By December 31, the city will also open two other poultry slaughter factories in the outlying district of Cu Chi and a cattle slaughter factory in Hoc Mon District, with a capacity of 50 cows and 200 goats per hour.

These factories' capacity is expected to increase to some 15,530 pigs, 300,000 poultry and 300 cows per day by next year, fully meeting the demand among local residents.

Meanwhile, the An Nhon Poultry Slaughter Center in Go Vap District will be shut down.

With Decision 300, the city will also adopt multiple solutions to ensure food safety, such as enhancing inspections of poultry and cattle farming and slaughter and processing facilities, launching traceability programs and helping slaughter enterprises promote their brands. Solutions to protect the environment and encourage the application of technology will be prioritized as well.

In addition, the municipal government has asked commercial banks to offer preferential loans for industrial slaughterhouse projects.

In 2016, HCMC had 21 slaughterhouses, including a poultry slaughter facility. Under the city’s Decision 2032/QD-UBND approving the poultry and cattle slaughter facilities’ system planning in the city for the 2016-2020 period with a vision toward 2025, 10 slaughterhouses were shut down.

The remaining 11 slaughterhouses, mainly in the Binh Thanh, Binh Tan, Cu Chi, Nha Be, Can Gio and Go Vap districts, are operating normally.

The city had planned to put into operation six pig slaughterhouses, one cow slaughterhouse and two poultry slaughter facilities last year. However, most of these projects remain uncompleted due to obstacles in legal procedures.

Only the Tan Thoi Thuong slaughterhouse, funded by Hoc Mon Food Processing JSC, has operated since February last year. Two other projects’ legal procedures are expected to be completed this quarter and four cattle slaughter factories will be put into operation this year.

Further, two poultry slaughterhouses, one owned by Pham Ton Co., Ltd, and another by Saigon Agriculture Corporation, are projected to start operations this year.

According to the HCMC government, owners of old slaughterhouses in the city are hesitant to invest in their facilities, making them unable to comply with regulations on food safety and environmental protection.

SGT