Large Wholesale Fruit Market Construction Kicks off in Mekong Delta

Large Wholesale Fruit Market Construction Kicks off in Mekong Delta

The Saigon Trading Group, or Satra, started work on a US$3-million supermarket last Friday inside a national fruit trade center, which is also under construction in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang.

The supermarket will sell wholesale fruits to the local and foreign markets, according to Satra general director Huynh Van Minh, adding that the supermarket, operational before December, will also sell farming machines.

Minh said it would cover two hectares in the 12-hectare center, which is part of an economic co-operation program between HCM City and the Mekong Delta province. The center is located on National Highway 1A in Tien Giang's Cai Be district, which is the busiest fruit-growing region in the entire Mekong Delta.

"The center in our province will help boost the fruit sector and increase its commercial value," provincial chairman Tran Thanh Trung said. The center is expected to attract some US$6.3 million from investors, such as Satra. Most of the land has already been prepared with the needed infrastructure.

Trung said Tien Giang houses 55,000 hectares of fruit, more than any other delta province, supplying 2.5 million tons of fruit a year.

Satra buys fruit from farmers and local traders to supply to supermarkets and wholesale markets in HCM City and also for export. It owns Saigon Supermarket, Tax Plaza and Binh Dien wholesale market. Its subsidiaries also own numerous retail outlets.

Saigon Times Daily