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| Coffee is among of the seven commodities posting export value of over 1 billion USD in H1. (Photo: VNA) |
Agro-forestry-fishery exports totaled about 29.2 billion USD in H1, up 19% from the same period last year, while imports stand at some 20.92 billion USD, statistics show.
In particular, key agricultural products have brought home 15.76 billion USD, forestry products 7.95 billion USD, aquatic products 4.36 billion USD, and animal husbandry products 240 million USD, respectively rising 24.4%, 21.2%, 4.9%, and 3.8%.
The five commodities posting the highest trade surpluses are timber and wood products 6.16 billion USD, coffee 3.14 billion USD, fruits and vegetables 2.42 billion USD, rice 2.31 billion USD, shrimp 1.43 billion USD. The surpluses increase 22.5%, 36.2%, 35.3%, 27%, and 13.3%, respectively.
The MARD said seven commodities and groups of commodities have secured export value of over 1 billion USD in H1, namely coffee, rubber, rice, fruits and vegetables, cashew nut, shrimp, and wood products.
The US, China, and Japan remained the largest importers of agro-forestry-fishery products from Vietnam. Shipments to the US account for 20.7% of the total and grow 20.8% year on year, China 20.2% and 9.5%, and Japan 6.7% and 5%, according to the MARD.
Binh Dinh Festival to promote sea tuna delicacies
Talented Vietnamese and international chefs will gather to showcase their special dishes made of ocean tuna at a festival held in the southern central province of Binh Dinh next month, reported Vietnam News Agency.
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| A local fisherman carries a sea tuna at the Tam Quan fishing port in Binh Dinh province, which is famous for tuna fishing, processing and trading. (Photo: danviet.vn) |
The 2024 Binh Dinh Essence of Land and Sea Festival will be landing from July 11 to 15 in Quy Nhon city.
According to Lam Hai Giang, deputy chairman of the Binh Dinh People’s Committee, the festival will spread the beautiful images of the land and people of Binh Dinh, promoting and enhancing the province's tourism appeal to both domestic and international visitors.
“The five-day event will also to present the image and brand of Binh Dinh ocean tuna to domestic consumers and exporters, contributing to the development of the fishing, processing and trading of this speciality seafood in the province,” he said.
A workshop on developing the fishing, processing and trading of ocean tuna in Binh Dinh will be held on the first day of the event, July 11.
Later on the same day, a vivid art and music programme will be staged at the city’s Nguyen Tat Thanh Square. There will be performances from a lineup of Vietnamese celebrated singers.
Every day during the festival promoting the provincial specialty, a special programme 'Introducing the Culinary Art of Ocean Tuna' will offer tasty ways to cook the fish with visitors offered 1,500 free food vouchers and the chance to sample amazing food created by top chefs.
Chef Kim Bernard Chilcott, director of Food and Beverage of Al Fresco’s Group, will introduce his signature dish, tuna salad with spicy coconut sauce.
Chef Ly Kim Long who is listed in the 'Top 100 Best Chef 2023' will showcase tuna curry with Tam Quan coconut – a specialty fruit of Binh Dinh.
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| Tuna is highlight of the 2024 Binh Dinh Essence of Land and Sea Festival. (Photo: nongnghiep.vn) |
Matsuo Tomoyuki, Chairman of the Vietnam-Japan Culinary Culture Association, will prepare tuna sushi.
The culinary programme will be organised at the Children's Park on An Duong Vuong street from 5.30pm.
Also at this location, there will be a fair of seafood specialties and handicrafts from villages across the province.
Dozens of restaurants, businesses in local speciality product trading and craft villages in Binh Dinh and other provinces such as Soc Trang, Tra Vinh, Tay Ninh, Dak Lak, Gia Lai, Da Nang, Ha Tinh, Lao Cai and Thai Nguyen, will be presenting at the fair.
On the opening day of the fair there will be something quite unusual - a giant sizzling pancake made with tuna, specially prepared by chefs from Ho Chi Minh City.
An exciting street festival with the theme 'Binh Dinh Welcomes Summer' will be launched at 5pm on July 14 at Nguyen Tat Thanh Square before a parade on streets alongside the Quy Nhon beach in the city.
The festival will wrap up on July 14 with a stunning light festival held for the first time in the province.
Deputy Chairman Giang said that the festival promises to offer both tourists and locals many memorable experiences.
Gong Echo Festival delights visitors to Quang Nam
The Gong Echo Festival – one of the most important celebrations of ethnic communities in the central region of Vietnam – is taking place in the central province of Quang Nam's Nam Giang district, reported Vietnam News Agency.
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| A gong performance by local ethnic people in Nam Giang district, Quang Nam province. (Photo: qrt.vn) |
With the theme of Nam Giang – Lung Linh Sac Mau Van Hoa (Nam Giang – Shimmering Cultural Colours), the sixth-edition festival, which is held every two years, aims to preserve the unique cultural identity of ethnic communities such as Co Tu, Ve and Ta Rieng, at the same time as promoting tourism development in the region, the local authority has said.
The two-day event involves the participation of 12 art troupes with 800 artists from 12 communes and towns from across the district, according to the People's Committee of Nam Giang district.
Speaking at an opening ceremony on June 25 night, Chairman of the Nam Giang People's Committee A Viet Son, affirmed the festival is a fitting way to preserve and promote the traditional cultural values of the ethnic peoples in the area.
"It aims to boost the implementation of a campaign themed 'All people unite to build a cultural life', arousing aspirations, trust, national pride, self-reliance in socio-economic development," Son said.
The festival will introduce the province and its heritage to visitors at home and from abroad, showing the potential and strengths of cultural and tourism development of Nam Giang in the process of innovation and global integration, he added.
The festival will help discover new cultural and artistic talents for the district's plan on developing cultural activities at grassroots levels. It will also boost training and improve professional qualifications and supplement more artists for participating in festivals to be held at provincial and regional level, as well as nationwide, according to the district authorities.
Highlights of the event will be performances of gongs by local outstanding players along with a majestic gong concert featuring the beautiful landscape of mountains and forests in the region.
In addition to the music, there will be other cultural activities, including a traditional culinary competition, a space for displaying historical and cultural artefacts and typical local products, along with artisans showing off ancient crafts of bamboo knitting, handloom weaving and sculpture.
There will be a costume model competition of ethnic minorities and spiritual practices such as the land-offering ceremony and traditional wedding ceremonies of the Co Tu and the Ve, the 'new rice' celebration of the Ta Rieng.
Attending the Gong Eco Festival, visitors will also have a chance to immerse in the wild and majestic traditional cultural space of the mountains and forests.
Many ethnic groups live along the Truong Son Range and on the legendary Ho Chi Minh Trail through Quang Nam province.
Culturally, the district is recognised as a brilliant, 'multi-coloured picture' of traditional beauties. It is also a convergence of typical but extremely rich and diverse in form and content cultural features expressed through the tangible and intangible values.
The Lancet honours Vietnamese doctors' research
An article on a research study by doctors at Ho Chi Minh City-based My Duc Hospital was recently published in The Lancet, a highly respected international medical journal in the world, reported the Voice of Vietnam.
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| The Lancet publishes an article about research study by Vietnamese doctors at Ho Chi Minh City-based My Duc Hospital. (Photo: VOV) |
The study was about “Livebirth rate after one frozen embryo transfer in ovulatory women starting with natural, modified natural, or artificial endometrial preparation in Vietnam: an open-label randomised controlled trial”.
According to the study, between March 22, 2021, and March 14, 2023, a total of 4,779 women were screened and 1,428 were randomly assigned. The scientific work is the first clinical study in the world conducted with a large number of samples.
It also marks the first scientific work to be evaluated by an independent international data analysis panel, including professors Lyle Gurrin, Jim Thorton, and Ernest Ng of the UK, Australia, and Hong Kong (China), respectively. The study ensures safety and effectiveness for all patients, as well as increasing the scientific nature and reliability of research.
Ultimately, the research will support doctors with more scientific evidence to help them to choose individualised regimens suitable for each patient, whilst optimising treatment results.
Earlier, another research study carried out by doctors at My Duc Hospital’s HOPE Research Centre was also published in The Lancet. It was about "intracytoplasmic sperm injection versus conventional in-vitro fertilisation in couples with infertility in whom the male partner has normal total sperm count and motility"./.