Rice exports bring home 2.24 billion USD in nine months

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), the figures represented a rise of 5.9 percent in volume and a drop of 9.8 percent in value compared to the same period in 2018.

The Philippines was the top market for Vietnamese rice in the first eight months of this year, consuming 1.76 million tonnes worth 720 million USD, 2.9 times higher in volume and 2.6 times in value over the same period last year.

Strong growth was also seen in other markets, including Australia (75 percent), Ivory Coast (nearly 35 percent), and Hong Kong (nearly 35 percent).

Vietnam has herbal research institute abroad

For the first time, Vietnam has an institute in the Republic of Korea, which focuses on researching herbal sources and applying technologies to increase the added value of Vietnamese herbal resources.

Vietnam – Korea Institute of Science and Technology (VKISC) has launched an on-site laboratory at Gangneung Institute of Natural Products in Republic of Korea (RoK), said the Ministry of Science and Technology on October 3rd.

The first research projects were based on the technological needs of enterprises and companies in the pharmaceutical field such as Traphaco Joint Stock Company, Nam Duoc Company, Thanh Hoa Pharmaceutical Company and Hung Yen Pharmaceutical Company. This is the first time a Vietnamese institute has the opportunity to set up a research base abroad to operate in an advanced international environment and increase its research capacity.

The laboratory opening is also in the framework of the ODA project signed the Memorandum of Cooperation Agreement between the Government of Vietnam and Korea in 2017.

One of the two priority areas of the VKISC is the biotechnology field, which focuses on making use of Vietnam's rich natural herbal resources and combining Korea's advanced techniques to achieve the best research results applied to production.

VKIST has established two strong research groups, including natural medicine and software technology. The group of natural pharmaceuticals, with a series of research projects in cooperation with businesses and on-site laboratories in RoK, is expected to soon promote the production of medicinal products according to international standards.

RoK waives short-term visa fees for Vietnamese citizens 

From October 1st to the end of 2019, visitors to the Republic of Korea who are Vietnamese nationals or citizens of ASEAN countries will have their visa application fees waived. However, the policy is only applied to short-term visas (C-3).

RoK waives short-term visa fees for Vietnamese citizens  (Photo for illustration/ Source: Korea Bizwrike)

The move, offered by the Korean Ministry of Justice, aims to increase flights from ASEAN countries to the RoK and organize special summits. 

Accordingly, the appraisal-fee waiver will be applied to people travelling on short-term visas from 10 ASEAN countries, including Vietnam, for three months, starting from October 1st, 2019. 

However, the RoK only offers the appraisal-fee waiver. Fee for receiving the document remains unchanged at VND390,000. 

The C-3 short-term visa is for travelers to the RoK staying less than 90 days; mainly for activities such as visiting relatives, business trips, medical treatment, sporting events and research./.