Vietnamese dragon fruit (Photo: VNA)
Speaking at the event opening, Vietnamese Ambassador to New Zealand Nguyen Van Trung emphasised the importance of promoting agricultural cooperation, agricultural product trade and market opening for the strategic partnership between Vietnam and New Zealand, said the Vietnam News Agency.
Vietnam wants New Zealand to share its experience and support Vietnam in building an international brand and value chain for the global commercialisation of dragon fruit, following the successful model of New Zealand's kiwi fruit, which is recognised worldwide.
Vietnamese trade agencies in Australia and New Zealand shared business practices and consumption habits of the regional market and trade promotion of dragon fruit.
They also suggested development orientations, including diversification of derivative product lines such as dragon fruit powder, frozen dragon fruit, dried dragon fruit, and dragon fruit juice to reduce pressure in the main cropping season.
Agencies recommended that businesses and localities develop advertising and industry branding strategies on the nutritional properties of their products to enhance consumer awareness and expand customers in addition to the traditional Asian customer group.
Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade Chau Thi Le expressed her hope that through the session, dragon fruit producers would have more information, knowledge and opportunities to bring dragon fruit to potential markets such as Australia or New Zealand.
Dragon fruit is one of the key plants of the province. Long An ranks second in the country in terms of planting and harvesting dragon fruit with about 11,822 hectares, and the fruiting area is approximately 11,000 hectares.
The provincial dragon fruit exports are mainly fresh and frozen to many markets, including China, the Republic of Korea, the US, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and some Southeast Asian countries. The Chinese market accounts for about 80 percent of export volume.
However, recently, China's import and export management policy, the complicated pandemic situation, and the increase in dragon fruit growing areas in China have caused many difficulties and losses for Vietnamese growers and export enterprises.
In addition to consuming and exporting fresh fruit, enterprises in Long An province also deeply process many products from dragon fruit, such as dried dragon fruit, dragon fruit wine, dragon fruit juice, mixed dragon fruit powder, and dragon fruit syrup for domestic and export demand.
The provincial Chau Thanh dragon fruit has also been granted a certificate of geographical indication registration by the Intellectual Property of Vietnam. The Tam Vu dragon fruit trademark has been protected in five countries, including the US, France, Japan, Singapore and China.
VN swimmer breaks SEA Games record in 100m male frog
Vietnamese swimmer Pham Thanh Bao excellently won a gold medal and broke the SEA Games record in the 100m male frog on May 14 evening.
Pham Thanh Bao celebrates his victory after setting a new record
in the 100m male frog (Photo: VOV)
According to the Voice of Vietnam, Bao did not start well in the first 50m, but he came back strongly in the remaining distance and finished first with a record of 1 minute 01 second 17, winning the gold medal.
The Vietnamese swimmer set a new record of the SEA Games, breaking the record (1 minute 01 second 46) held by James Daiparines of the Philippines at the 2019 SEA Games. Three years ago, Bao came in second and won a silver medal with a time of 1 minute 01 second 92.
After three years of training, Bao has significantly improved his performance, swimming faster than the 2019 SEA Games to break the previous record. He is also the first swimmer to break the record at the 31st SEA Games.
In addition, Bao is also the first Vietnamese athlete who has won a gold medal in the men’s 100m breaststroke at the SEA Games after 13 years. The gold medal was last awarded to late Vietnamese swimmer Nguyen Huu Viet at the 2009 SEA Games.
Vietnam leads medal count with 39 golds
Vietnamese athletes won 15 more golds on May 13 at the ongoing 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), raising Vietnam’s gold tally to 39 and helping the hosts retain first place in the medal table, said the Voice of Vietnam.
Track-and-field athletes bagged four golds in men’s and women’s 1,500m, women’s 5,000m and javelin throwing.
Nguyen Thi Oanh defends her SEA Games champion title in the women's 1,500m run
(Photo: VOV)
Four other golds were awarded to rowers in Women’s Heavy Singles Boat (W1X), Women’s Light Double Paddle Boat (LW2X), Women’s Double Paddle Boat (W2X) and Single Paddle Women’s Light Four (LW4-).
Swimmers brought home three golds in 1,500m freestyle, 100m male frog, and 4x100m relay. Notably, Pham Thanh Bao set a new SEA Games record in the 100m male frog with a time of 1 minute 01 second 17.
Meanwhile, in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay, the Singaporean team lost a gold medal to Vietnam after the 2016 Olympics 100m butterfly champion Joseph Schooling broke the rules.
Other gold medals were presented to Wushu martial artist Duong Thuy Vi, fencer Nguyen Tien Nhat, bodybuilder Tran Hoang Duy Thuan and Chinese chess players Lai Ly Huynh & Nguyen Thanh Bao.
As of 11pm on May 14, Vietnam got 39 golds, 30 silvers and 28 bronzes, ranking first in the medal table. Thailand came in second with 14 golds, 14 silvers and 29 bronzes. Indonesia finished third with 13 golds, 17 silvers and 8 bronzes.
HCM City to offer fourth COVID-19 vaccine doses next week
Ho Chi Minh City is expected to start offering fourth doses of COVID-19 vaccines to residents next week, according to Nguyen Hoai Nam, deputy director of the Municipal Department of Health.
Photo for illustration (Photo: VOV)
Priority will be given to more than 1.8 million people aged 50 years or older, Nam said on May 13 while meeting with voters in Districts No7 and Nha Be, reported by the Voice of Vietnam.
These booster shots will also be given to people aged 18 years or older with moderate to severe immunodeficiency or belonging to a group at high risk of exposure to COVID-19 such as healthcare workers, frontline workers, and people working in industrial parks.
The city will arrange mobile vaccination venues besides hospitals and injection sites. Vaccines to be used will be the Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca.
Several days ago the Ministry of Health requested localities to work out a vaccination plan for the fourth doses to be submitted to the ministry on May 25 at the latest. Ho Chi Minh City is the first to announce this plan.
Scientists said the fourth dose expected to boost immune responses is not necessarily needed for everyone. Countries such as the United States, United Kingdom and Australia have recommended fourth doses for people who are immunocompromised.
Israel became the first country to administer a fourth dose more widely in January, mostly to people aged 60 years or older as well as to high-risk populations and healthcare workers.
Japan increases banana imports from Vietnam
Japan imported more than 1,500 tonnes of bananas from Vietnam worth JPY166 million (US$1.3 million), a year-on-year rise of 38.5% in volume and 30.2% in value, reports Japan Customs.
According to Soichi Okazaki, executive officer of AEON Co Ltd, Japan is importing bananas from several markets, such as Ecuador, Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, and Costa Rica. However, Vietnamese bananas gain foothold in Japan thanks to their competitive prices, and a good taste.
Vietnamese bananas hit supermarket shelves in Japan (Photo: VNA)
Despite recording strong growth, Vietnamese bananas make up only 0.6% of Japan's total banana imports, according to the Voice of Vietnam.
Japan Customs reports Japan spent JPY22.4 billion (roughly US$171.2 million) on importing 244,000 tonnes of bananas in the first quarter of 2022, a decline of 2.5% in volume and an increase of 3.5% in value.
The Philippines is Japan’s largest supplier of bananas, while Vietnam is their seventh largest supplier of the fruit./.