Representatives from businesses and organiser meet the press to inform about the fair on July 29. A fair selling farm produce with food safety certification will be held in HCM City during the first and third weekend of every month. — VNS Photo Xuan Huong

HCM CITY (Biz Hub) — The HCM City Department of Agriculture and Rural Development will organise a safe farm produce fair on the first and third weekends of every month, starting on August 6.

Speaking to the media on July 29, Nguyen Van Truc, deputy director of the department, said only produce that have food safety certification such as VietGap and GlobalGap are eligible to participate in the fair.

The fair's organisers would regularly check the quality of produce and randomly test fruit and vegetable samples for plant protection residues, he said.

So far 24 businesses have registered to take part, eight of them producers and traders of poultry, pork and seafood products and the rest, fruit and vegetable businesses, he said.

To be held at the department's premises at 176 Hai Ba Trung, District 1, the fair would help producers of safe farm produce promote their products and serve as a trustworthy place for people to buy safe food, he added.

According to the city Centre for Agricultural Consultancy and Support, 815 fruit and vegetable growers in the city have got VietGap certification and produce an estimated 57,635 tonnes a year. — VNS