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| Vietnamese durian (Photo: VNA) |
In the period, Thailand spent up to 22.5 million USD importing Vietnamese durian, a year-on-year surge of 82%. This figure is much higher than that of the third ranked market, China’s Hong Kong, with only 3.6 million USD. In 2023, Hong Kong was the second largest import market with a turnover of 20 million USD, followed by China’s Taiwan with 16 million USD.
Dang Phuc Nguyen, General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association (Vinafruit), explained that in recent times, Thailand increased imports of Vietnamese durian because during that time, Vietnam was the only country supplying this kind of fruit in the world.
Although Thailand is the largest exporter of the fruit, its durian has decreased significantly in quantity and quality due to severe drought, so it has to buy this fruit from other countries to serve domestic and tourist needs, stated Nguyen.
Vinafruit Chairman Nguyen Thanh Binh added that while China is the largest importer of Vietnamese fresh durian, Thailand is Vietnam's top frozen durian importer thanks to competitive prices.
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| Fruitful durian garden in Southwestern Vietnam (Photo: TNO) |
Some of the imported frozen durian is to serve processing activities, but the majority is exported to third countries, mainly China, Binh said, adding that currently, Vietnam is not allowed to export frozen durian to China while Thailand and China have a protocol on frozen durian.
Therefore, the Vietnamese business community is looking forward to the early signing of a protocol between Vietnam and China, so that products do not have to detour to benefit both Vietnamese farmers and Chinese consumers.
In April, Vietnam earned 217 million USD from shipping durian abroad, up 487% against the same period last year.
The figure for the first four months of this year reached 470 million USD, a year-on-year rise of 146%. China was the largest importer, accounting for 92% of the market share.
VinFast listed among top 100 most influential companies in the world for 2024
Time Magazine (Time) of the United States recently named Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast in its list of the "TIME100 most influential companies 2024, alongside Google, Microsoft, and Amazon, reported the Voice of Vietnams.
The reputable magazine has ranked VinFast in the "Disrupters" group and dubbed the Vietnamese car company "An EV splash".
The magazine outlined that the Vietnamese car company has made a global impact in the EV industry due to the lightning pace of construction of its factory in just 21 months.
Along with VinFast's vast production scale and miraculous developments, the media outlet also pointed out that VFS's shares skyrocketed by 700% in just the first two weeks after the company was listed on the US stock exchange.
The prestigious US magazine also described the company's battery-leasing electric vehicle business model as being "unique".
According to TIME, VinFast has bold plans ahead as it strives to triple vehicle delivery in 2024 to 100,000.
Backed by Vietnam’s richest man, Pham Nhat Vuong, VinFast is also in the process of opening factories in North Carolina, Indonesia, and India.
Despite posting a US$618.3 million loss in the first quarter of the year, Vuong has vowed to at least break even next year, pledging an additional US$1 billion of his personal wealth to make it happen.
According to economic expert Pham Chi Lan, VinFast has made history for Vietnamese businesses. “This event is even more special in the context of the world market going through a period of fluctuations and fierce competition in multiple fields, especially the electric car industry,” she noted.
Sharing the same perspective, Dr. Tran Dinh Thien, former director of the Vietnam Economic Institute, said this is good news, not only for the VinFast brand, but also for Vietnam as a whole.
The fact that a Vietnamese enterprise was honoured in the list of the top 100 most influential companies in the world as voted by TIME can be seen as a point of pride and marks the increasing maturity of VinFast, Thien noted.
TimeOut lists Ho Chi Minh City among world’s 20 best cities for food
British magazine TimeOut has placed Ho Chi Minh City in fourth position among its list of the world’s leading 20 cities for food, reported the Voice of Vietnam.
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| By far the most mentioned dish in TimeOut’s survey was Phở, a type of local noodle soup. (Photo courtesy of TimeOut) |
Boasting a range of tastes such as sweet, spicy, fragrant, and fishy, Vietnamese cuisine never compromises on flavour, meaning that food lovers all over the world can sample the very best of it when visiting Ho Chi Minh, the article wrote.
According to the British media outlet, beyond the streetside food stalls and bustling markets hawking banh mi, snails, broken rice, and offal stew are a clutch of Bib Gourmand and Michelin-starred restaurants serving up creative versions of classic dishes. However, by far the most mentioned dish in TimeOut’s survey was Phở, a type of local noodle soup.
The warming noodle soup in the south is typically heavily garnished with basil, coriander, chilli and hoisin sauce, whilst it is a Vietnamese staple that can be found across the city, TimeOut shared.
“Though Hanoi might be the birthplace of Vietnamese cuisine and culture, Ho Chi Minh City has emerged as the country's most exciting dining destination,” Ho Chi Minh City writer Dan Q Dao said.
TimeOut suggested a visit to Ănăn Saigon, chef Peter Cuong Franklin's ‘new Vietnamese’ restaurant that has nabbed the city's sole Michelin star; Bánh Mì Huỳnh Hoa, a 30-year-old street food institution specialising in French-influenced Vietnamese baguette sandwiches; and Tre Dining restaurant and gastro-focused wine bar Little Bear.
Topping the list is Naples with the must-eat dish Pizza margherita, followed by Johannesburg with Kota sandwiches.
Others cities to make the list include Lima in Peru, Beijing in China, Bangkok in Thailand, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, and Mumbai in India.
Vietnam bags seven medals at Asia-Pacific Informatics Olympiad 2024
All seven Vietnamese students competing at the Asia-Pacific Informatics Olympiad (APIO) 2024 won medals, including one gold and six silver medals, reported the Voice of Vietnam as announced on May 31 by the Ministry of Education and Training.
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| Vietnamese team at Asia-Pacific Informatics Olympiad 2024 (Photo: dantri.com.vn) |
One gold medal was secured by Pham Cong Minh, a 12th grade student studying at High School for Gifted Students of the University of Science under the Vietnam National University, Hanoi.
One silver medal went to Nguyen Tung Lam, a 12th grader of Tran Phu High School for Gifted Students in Hai Phong city.
Elsewhere, the other silver medalists included Pham Ngoc Trung, Nguyen Tuan Linh, Nguyen Huu Tuan, Hoang Xuan Bach, and Tran Gia Huy, all of whom are pupils at High School for Gifted Students of the University of Science under the Vietnam National University, Hanoi.
The 18th edition of the APIO got underway from May 18 to May 19. It was held online with the participation of over 1,000 contestants from 35 countries and territories, with a total of 286 prizes being awarded.
With the seven medals, the nation ranked sixth among the participating countries and territories.
Four contestants from the Vietnamese team will be selected to represent the country at the 2024 International Olympiad in Informatics which is scheduled to take place in Egypt from September 1 to September 8./.