Vietnamese longan (Photo: VNA)
Japan has always been a market with strict standards in importing agricultural products. Meanwhile, more and more Vietnamese people are living and working in Japan, and Japanese consumers' tastes are also changing. Vietnamese food is gradually becoming more popular with great potential to gain a foothold in the market.
However, entering this choosy market is a process requiring efforts from many sides. Currently, Vietnam is allowed to export three kinds of fresh fruits to this market, namely dragon fruit, Cat Chu mango and lychee.
The Department of Plant Protection under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is conducting negotiations to open more doors for Vietnamese longan to penetrate this market.
Nguyen Thi Thu Huong, deputy director of the department, said that Japan has the most stringent sanitary and phytosanitary standards in the world. Therefore, good preservation technology is required to maintain the freshness of fruits, including longan, during transportation at a reasonable cost. With such technology, Vietnamese longan will be able to compete and gain a foothold in the Japanese market.
In 2020, the Department of Plant Protection proposed applying the cold-pressure processing method for all varieties of longan and was accepted by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF). The Japanese and Vietnamese sides spent many months developing a plan to carry out experiments applying this method.
If the cold-pressure processing technology is approved by the Japanese side, Vietnam will have a great opportunity to export this kind of fruit to this market.
Last year, Vietnam exported over 117,500 tonnes of longan, including over 11,000 tonnes of fresh longan. Vietnam fresh longan is currently sold in 17 countries and territories across the world.
Automaker VinFast to open over 50 stores in Europe
Automaker VinFast announced its plan to open more than 50 stores in Europe at the 35th International Electric Vehicle Symposium and Exhibition (EVS35) in Norway on June 14, reported Vietnam News Agency.
VinFast's VF 8 model (Photo: VIR)
Accordingly, there will be at least 25 VinFast stores in Germany, 20 in France and five in the Netherlands.
The first stores will be built in Frankfurt, Berlin, Cologne, Oberhausen and Hamburg of Germany; Paris, Marseille, Nantes, Rennes, Nice, Montpellier, Aix en Provence and Metz of France; and Amsterdam of the Netherlands.
Le Thi Thu Thuy, Vingroup's Vice Chairwoman and VinFast Global CEO, said: “VinFast is not just here to sell cars. We are here to inspire change and accelerate the transition to electric vehicles for the benefit of the environment.”
At the EVS35, which takes place from June 11-15, VinFast has introduced its smart electric vehicles VF 8 and VF 9 that debuted at the 2021 Los Angeles Auto Show and CES 2022. With the elegance of world-renowned Pininfarina Design crafted into all of VinFast's EVs, the two models will impress and captivate the public. The brand utilised modern design languages to optimise aerodynamics and create comfortable driving experiences while upholding aesthetics that reflect each segment's unique features.
VinFast's VF 8 model (Photo: VNA)
Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade to study policies to promote the development of the domestic automobile industry, in line with the growing global trend towards electric cars.
The request was to response to the proposal of the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA).
VAMA said that Vietnam needed to have an automobile industry strategy in line with the growing global trend toward electric cars that contributes to Vietnam’s commitment to net-zero carbon emission at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26). It proposed an electric car development programme to be raised together with a roadmap to convert from fossil-fuel cars to electric cars and an action plan to implement COP26 commitments.
Good signals for Vietnamese fruit exports
Many Vietnamese fruits are getting final negotiation steps done to enter new markets, with passion fruit approved by China and green-skin pomelo on the way to the US, reported Vietnam News Agency.
Illustrative photo (Source: nongnghiep.vn)
According to Le Van Thiet, deputy head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Plant Protection Department, China has allowed piloting the import of Vietnamese passion fruit into Guangdong province via its border gates with Vietnam’s Lang Son and Quang Ninh provinces. The fruit must have growing area and packaging codes and meet food safety standards, among other criteria.
Vietnam’s negotiation for exporting durian to China also entered the final phase, with the sides working to complete a protocol regulating related plantations, codes of distributors, and diseases control.
Meanwhile, the US has already permitted the import of six Vietnamese fruits. The two sides are in their final step of negotiation for the fruit to enter the US market based on American consumers' demand.
For the Japanese market, which has accepted Vietnam’s dragon fruit, lychee, and mango, the Plant Protection Department is negotiating the export of local longan using a new cold processing method.
In order to catch opportunities, many localities are preparing growing areas and material sources. Notably, Gia Lai has made passion fruit one of its four key fruits. By 2025, the Central Highlands province plans to increase its passion fruit plantation to 20,000ha from the current 4,000ha.
Postage stamps featuring sea birds to be issued
Birds of Vietnamese seas and islands are featured on a set of postage stamps to be issued by the Ministry of Information and Communications, reported Vietnam News Agency.
The set of stamps featuring sea birds (Photo: vnpost.vn)
The birds comprise Thalasseus bergii (Lichtenstein, 1823), Gallicrex cinerea (Gmelin, 1789), Arenaria interpres (Linnaeus, 1758), Tringa brevipes (Vieillot, 1816) and Sula sula (Linnaeus, 1766).
The set of stamps is intended to promote the land and people of Vietnam, as well as the country’s conservation of maritime biodiversity.
It is scheduled to debut within the framework of the Vietnam Stamp Exhibition 2022 (Vietstampex 2022) on June 24, and to be available on postal services until the end of 2023.
This is the third of its kind themed Vietnam’s seas and islands, following others featuring sea creatures, and Vietnamese coast guard ships./.