The environment around the Thai Ha wet market in Hanoi's Dong Da district is now neater, and vendors' treatment of customers has improved. The Pilot Market Model for Civilized Living and Food Safety, which ran from December 2022 to August 2023, produced these encouraging results.

Seminar participants visit the Thai Ha market in Dong Da District. Photos: Hanoimoi

This is an initiative of the Hanoi Women's Union to create a civilized and safe environment in local markets throughout the city.

Tran Thi Minh Xuan, Chairwoman of the Dong Da District Women's Union, shared the effective implementation method, saying that the union has been in regular coordination with the district's functional departments at every stage.

At the same time, various forms of communication and awareness campaigns were carried out to ensure that both sellers and buyers in the Thai Ha market understood and voluntarily complied with the code of good conduct.

As a result, vendors at Thai Ha Market have enthusiastically embraced the model, maintaining a tidy market, and complying with food safety and hygiene regulations while implementing brand identification.

"While it was difficult to introduce the model, it is even more challenging to maintain and maximize its effectiveness. However, I believe that Thai Ha market vendors will continue to become more polite and nicer to customers," Xuan stressed.

The model has also been copied in Lien Ninh Market in Thanh Tri District since May, and following its success, the district's Women's Union has replicated it in other nearby markets in Tu Hiep and Thanh Liet communes.

Accordingly, the district Women's Union worked with local authorities to guide and encourage traders, officials, and union members involved in the implementation. The vendors voluntarily joined the model and promptly received support from the District Women's Union.

Participants discuss solutions for civilized behaviors in wet markets.

Pham Thi Thanh Huong, Vice Chairwoman of the Hanoi Women's Union, at a seminar on August 30 held after eight months of implementation, said the model has proven to be essential and beneficial.

According to her, the model has been tested in several markets, such as Thai Ha and Kim Lien markets (Dong Da District), Goi, Moi and Phung markets (Dan Phuong District), Thuong Thanh and Kim Quan markets (Long Bien District), Gia market (Hoai Duc District), Chuc Son and Xuan Mai markets (Chuong My District).

In addition, some districts such as Gia Lam, Thanh Tri, Thach That, Ha Dong, and Thanh Xuan have proactively implemented the model. Localities should focus on communication initiatives that target both suppliers and buyers to ensure the model's sustained effectiveness, she said.

After 15 years of expansion, Hanoi is now home to 453 traditional markets and some 90,000 traders, mostly small and self-employed vendors.

This pilot model will help wet markets improve trading behavior, ensure the quality and safety of goods and food, and maintain security, fire safety, and social order.

The city's project "Management of food production and business establishments in Hanoi wet markets in 2022-2025" targets to have all food outlets in wet markets compliant and certified by the end of 2025.