Photo for illustration (Source: NDO)
The top-quality fragrant rice was imported by the Long Dan Limited Company in the UK from the Vietnam National Seed Group (Vinaseed), and the rice is now sold at 15.5 GBP (21.28 USD) per kilogramme at the firm's supermarket chain.
Since Vietnamese high-quality rice enjoys zero tariff in the UK market under the trade pact, which took effect on December 31, 2021, it will gain competitive edge over rivals, including those from Thailand.
According to the Vietnamese trade counsellor in the UK Nguyen Canh Cuong, rice shipments to the European country this year will sharply rise against 2020.
He said more UK firms will purchase Vietnamese rice under the UKVFTA, relishing an exciting prospect that Vietnamese rice will expand its market share in the UK this year.
In 2019, the UK, the world’s 9th largest rice importer, splashed out 531 million USD buying 671,000 tonnes of Vietnamese rice. However, Vietnamese rice only accounted for 0.24 percent of the UK’s total rice import. Top rice exporters to the UK included India (22 percent of market share), Pakistan (18 percent), Spain (11 percent), Italy (10.9 percent), and Thailand (9.2 percent).
Russia lifts entry restrictions for Vietnamese citizens
Russia will lift the entry restrictions on people from Vietnam and some other countries such as Finland, India and Qatar, with flights to these countries set to resume from January 27, the VOV reported the announcement of the Russian Government.
Passengers wearing masks at an airport in Vietnam (Photo: VNA)
"For citizens of four more countries—Finland, Vietnam, India and Qatar—the restrictions on entering Russia, which were introduced following the COVID-19 spread, will be lifted," the Russian News Agency TASS cited a statement from the Russian cabinet’s press service as reporting.
“The respective decree was signed by Chairman of the Government Mikhail Mishustin,” the cabinet said.
The citizens of Vietnam, Finland, India and Qatar and those who have a residence permit in these countries will be allowed to fly to Russia.
The Russian anti-coronavirus crisis center announced a decision on January 16 to resume international flights with these countries on a mutual basis. Flights will be operated to Vietnam, India and Finland twice a week and to Qatar three times a week.
Russia imposed travel restrictions in March 2020 to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vietnam is widely acknowledged as having one of the world’s most successful responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The country has moved rapidly with containment, targeted testing, tracking and quarantine and public communication.
Vietnamese researchers in US invent COVID-19 vaccine patches, reusable facemasks
A group of Vietnamese researchers at the University of Connecticut in the US have invented COVID-19 high-tech biological facemasks and patches to deliver vaccines into the human body easily, the Sai Gon Giai Phong newspaper said.
A member of the research team wears the prototype of disposable face masks
(Photo: vietnamnet.vn)
Nguyen Duc Thanh, 37, and his research team, Nguyen Lab, used autolytic piezoelectric polymer sheets, which has been studied by themselves and applied in organ transplantation since 2018, to make a type of special facemask.
The invention was launched to meet the urgent need in the US last year.
According to Dr. Thanh, most medical masks are made of synthetic polymers similar to plastic bags which are unable to self dispose and pose a major hazard to the environment. Medical masks are unable to prevent bacteria, viruses and fine dust like KN95 or N95 masks. Meanwhile, N95 masks are very expensive and can be used only one time.
Thanh’s team came up with the idea of using the autolytic piezoelectric polymer sheets that can filter the dust as effectively as N95 but can be reused after sterilising by autoclave or ultrasound. It is disposable after several years.
Although the sheet has been applied in many medical products, this was the first time it has been used filtering dust, viruses and bacteria.
Thanh said what made his masks different from others was the piezoelectric effect of the nano film. The film can create a small voltage layer when there is air flow (from breathing, sneezing or coughing).
The voltage creates an invisible protection layer, preventing the penetration of charged droplets of water bringing viruses and bacteria.
“The polymer nano film’s filtering capacity is almost as much as N95 and higher than normal medical face masks,” he said.
The team is doing further research and packaging the product and plans to launch a start-up to bring the face masks to the market.
“It is expected that the face masks will be used widely in one to two years time,” Thanh told vietnamnet.vn.
After sterilisation or disinfection using high temperatures and pressure or ultrasonic vibrations, the piezoelectricity won’t be lost.
"This feature allows the masks to be reused for many times," he added.
Thanh’s research team is also studying a vaccine patch that can be applied to skin that helps deliver COVID-19 vaccines into the human body without infections from medical workers.
The patch, like urgo patches, is expected to distribute the vaccine to the community so quickly that people no longer have to visit medical facilities during the lockdown.
The research has been published in the medical journal Nature Biomedical Engineering and attracted the attention of international scientists./.