The Director of the Nghe An Department of Industry and Trade answers questions regarding the trade and service sector.

On the morning of July 11th, the 21st session of the Nghe An Provincial People's Council, 18th term, 2021-2026, continued with the question and answer session.

Comrades Thai Thanh Quy - Member of the Central Committee of the Party, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council, Head of the Provincial Delegation of National Assembly Deputies; Nguyen Nam Dinh - Member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council; and Nguyen Nhu Khoi - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council, presided over and conducted the session.

Attending the meeting were: Comrade Nguyen Van Thong - Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee; Comrade Hoang Nghia Hieu - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee; Comrade Vo Thi Minh Sinh - Member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairwoman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Nghe An province; members of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, members of the Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairmen of the Provincial People's Committee, Deputy Heads of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation, delegates of the Provincial People's Council; and leaders of departments, agencies, and localities.

According to Pham Van Hoa, Director of the Department of Industry and Trade, the state management of food safety is assigned and decentralized to three sectors: Health, Agriculture and Rural Development, and Industry and Trade, as well as the People's Committees at the district and commune levels.

The main violations include failure to comply with legal regulations on food sample retention and the three-step food inspection process; contamination of food business premises, display areas, and storage facilities by insects and harmful animals; and violations of legal regulations on food safety conditions.

Through inspections and checks, it has been observed that the number of establishments violating food safety regulations has been decreasing since 2021. From 2021 to the present, the province has recorded 6 food poisoning incidents under the management of district and commune levels, affecting 175 people, with no fatalities.

The Director of the Department of Industry and Trade also stated that the situation of smuggling, trade fraud, and counterfeit goods in Nghe An province is characterized by the illegal buying, selling, and transportation of narcotics, firecrackers, wild animals, livestock and poultry products, cigarettes, consumer goods, and the business of counterfeit goods, prohibited goods, and goods of unknown origin on e-commerce platforms.

During the period 2021-2023, functional forces and relevant sectors conducted inspections and imposed administrative penalties in 20,591 cases, initiated criminal proceedings in 1,050 cases, with a total fine revenue of over 805.731 billion VND. In the first six months of 2024, 4,233 cases were inspected and administrative penalties were imposed, with 896/1,163 cases initiated criminal proceedings, and a total fine revenue of 115.706 billion VND.

Currently, counterfeit goods, substandard goods, and goods of unknown origin are prevalent in many segments of the market, from remote areas to street vendors and grocery stores in urban areas.

Smuggling, trade fraud, and counterfeit goods continue to occur in the e-commerce environment and pose potential challenges. Tax management and efforts to combat revenue loss from e-commerce activities remain ineffective.

The market network in the province has developed significantly in recent years. Market infrastructure has been gradually invested in and built in a targeted manner, in line with the province's overall trade development plan. The process of socializing investment in markets has initially shown positive progress.

However, currently some markets are operating inefficiently or with low efficiency, their infrastructure is dilapidated, and their water supply and drainage systems, fire prevention and fighting systems, and environmental sanitation are still weak. There is no provincial wholesale market to organize linkages with large goods distribution centers in other provinces and cities nationwide.

The adoption and transformation of market business models is slow, failing to meet the requirements of digital transformation and the needs of the people. Investment resources for the development of the market system are limited and insufficient to meet the demands.

State management of the market system remains inadequate, with some markets not performing effectively. Inspection, monitoring, and enforcement of laws regarding market management are still limited in some aspects.

(Nghe An Newspaper will continue to update)

[Infographics] Current status of the 371 markets in Nghe An province