HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Food processing firms in Ho Chi Minh City havestepped up production to meet demand while also enhancing safety measures fortheir staff amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Vissan has organised three shifts to produce canned foods and various kinds ofsausages and meat paste for the last month, but still does not have enoughstocks to deliver to supermarkets and agents.

Phan Van Dung, deputy general director of Vissan, said: “Our warehouse forfinished products is empty now, while orders have increased by 30-40 percentfor canned foods and 10 percent for other food products compared to normaldays.

“The process of producing canned foods takes a lot of time. But supermarketsand distribution agencies have been constantly calling to place orders or askfor delivery, and so though we have three shifts, we are unable to meet thedemand.” 

Saigon Food JSC has given up a part of exports since it has switched toproduction for the domestic market on two lines.

Le Thanh Lam, deputy general director of Saigon Food, said with the countryfighting a pandemic, demand for food is rising, and the company has prioritisedthe domestic market.

"Orders have doubled since before Tet [before February]. Demand for freshporridge has seen the strongest increase. Demand for frozen foods has alsoincreased but is less than demand for fresh porridge. The company hasintroduced in the market instant foods such as chicken soup with glass noodles,fish paste vermicelli soup and fried rice, and seen that demand for theseproducts is very good.”

Vietnam Food Industries Joint-Stock Company (Vifon)’s export orders haveincreased by 300 percent from normal, with most orders being from long-termpartners, and the company has managed to both fulfil them and increase supplyin the domestic market.

In addition to speed up production, food processing firms have also enhancedprevention of the Covid-19.

Amid the pandemic outbreak, if one worker is infected, an entire factory has tobe quarantined, and so enterprises have enhanced safety measures such aschecking body temperature at the gate, requiring a medical declaration everyday and re-arranging the work and eating schedules to minimise the risk oftransmission between workers.

Vissan has for instance temporarily turned its parking lot into a temporarycanteen for workers. It has also staggered workers’ lunch breaks and made themeat in groups to reduce direct contact with each other.

Companies have also switched the worker check-in and -out system to magneticcards from fingerprints and begun carefully checking container trucks andtransportation vehicles coming in and out of their factories.

Saigon Food said it has applied the third level of pandemic prevention, notallowing any guests in and disinfecting vehicles that enter and leave./.