The largest wholesale drug market in Ho Chi Minh City: Deserted, strangely quiet

The Pharmaceutical and Medical Equipment Trade Center (District 10) is considered the largest "wholesale drug market" in Ho Chi Minh City.

No longer the usual hustle and bustle, this place is now strangely deserted and quiet.

No customers from morning to afternoon

According to Dan Tri reporters on the afternoon of June 4, many pharmacies located in the heart of the drug market (To Hien Thanh street) were "closed and locked", with motorbikes parked in front, blocking all entrances to the counters.

On the street, many small traders also quietly secured their medicine boxes and left. For the stores that were still operating, very few goods were placed outside.

Similarly, on Nguyen Gian Thanh Street, in addition to medical equipment stalls, there are also buyers, while most pharmaceutical businesses are in a deserted state.

Speaking to reporters, a female pharmacist standing at a pharmaceutical company’s store shared that in the past few weeks, the number of customers coming to buy retail drugs here has decreased sharply. In the past few days, from morning to afternoon, there have been no customers coming to buy.

The pharmacist said that this is a common situation among establishments in the "wholesale drug market", after authorities continuously discovered fake drug production lines, as well as increased inspection activities.

Mr. NTL, the store manager, added that every day for the past week, he has seen the authorities working at the wholesale drug market area.

Referring to the closure of many surrounding pharmacies, Mr. L. said the reason could be that the facilities are reviewing their facilities themselves while waiting for the authorities to re-evaluate GPP standards (good pharmacy practices).

Mr. L. hopes that the authorities will soon publish a full list of pharmaceutical companies with substandard products and provide early information so that small traders can proactively stop doing business.

According to Mr. L., in the current context when the inspection is not known when it will end, pharmacies will not dare to import goods, which will greatly affect business activities.

Closed for fear of being discovered selling goods without invoices

At a drug store, Ms. B. said she has worked in this drug market for 30 years. The woman shared that the store's revenue has decreased by about 30% in the past few months. This place has also just received an inspection team.

“They checked for about 3-4 hours, mainly for invoices and hygiene issues. Some pharmacies around here were closed. People were afraid that if the inspectors came in and found out they didn’t have invoices, their goods would be taken away.

To be honest, before, if you bought a large quantity, you would only get a receipt, but if you bought 1-2 boxes of medicine, no one would give you a receipt. But from now on, no matter how much you buy, you will have to get a receipt because management is very strict," Ms. B. shared.

According to Ms. B., drug traders mainly rely on paperwork, and the quality of drugs or functional foods must be tested by the Department of Health. Therefore, they are very passive if they are suddenly found to be counterfeit and have their drugs recalled.

This is also the reason why many stores in wholesale markets no longer leave medicine boxes outside, for fear of accidentally displaying counterfeit goods.

“The security guards at the drug market also constantly remind us to bring the medicine inside to preserve it properly, because the medicine will spoil in the hot sun outside. Now we just do whatever the government requires,” said Ms. B.

A representative of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health told reporters that recently, when authorities stepped up inspections of pharmaceuticals, many stores at the Pharmaceutical and Medical Equipment Trade Center had cleared away some of the goods left outside.

Apart from the wholesale drug market area, most retail pharmacies in the area are still operating.

Previously, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health issued an urgent document on reviewing and reporting on drugs, functional foods and medical equipment.

Specifically, medical examination and treatment facilities are required to quickly review and check the list of drugs, functional foods and medical equipment being used and traded in their facilities, to ensure that there are no products of unknown origin or not yet permitted for circulation.

Pharmaceutical businesses must review and check the list of goods they are trading to ensure that they only trade in products that are permitted to circulate and within the scope of their licenses.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health requested functional units to increase sampling and quality testing of products circulating on the market, ensuring safety for consumers.

The Ministry of Health also established a specialized task force to prevent counterfeit drugs and directed the launch of a peak campaign against counterfeit drugs, functional foods and milk from May 15 to June 15.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/cho-thuoc-si-lon-nhat-o-tphcm-vang-ve-im-ang-la-thuong-20250605002646786.htm