Vietnamese fruits and vegetables introduced at Macfrut 2021 in Italy (Source: vov.vn)
On display were many fresh and processed fruits, including pomelos, longans, avocadoes, coconuts, and mangoes supplied by Vietnamese businesses from Son La and Ben Tre provinces. Other specialties of Vietnamese regions such as coffee, tea, pepper and cinnamons were also brought to the event, reported VOV.
The Vietnamese stall attracted plenty of attention from numerous visitors, including Italian Minister of Agricultural and Forestry Policies Stefano Patuanelli and President of Macfrut Renzo Piraccini.
They were introduced to the huge potential of the Vietnamese fruit and vegetable sector, its development, and exports.
The Vietnamese side also received a lot of contact registration online and direct transactions.
Macfruit is one of the three largest annual international fairs throughout Europe. This year the event, the 38th of its kind, attracted over 500 businesses in the fruit and vegetable sector from more than 90 countries and territories worldwide.
Macfruit 2021 also marks the first time that businesses which can’t attend the fair due to the COVID-19 pandemic can contact its partners through the online form.
The EU represents the fourth largest export market of Vietnamese fruit and vegetable products, with its import turnover constantly increasing over the past five years. However, the value is rather modest at US$150 million compared to a total of US$3.7 billion of Vietnamese export turnover.
Efforts made to turn Vietnam into world’s spice supplier
Vietnam’s agriculture sector along with the spices and seasonings industry have enjoyed a remarkable transition which turns the country into a supplier of those products for the global market, reported VNA.
Vietnam's spices and seasonings are on show at a recent fair in Italy (Photo: VNA)
Le Hoang Tai, Vice Director of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, unveiled the information during a virtual conference on Vietnamese spices and seasonings hosted by Vietrade on September 8.
Trade promotions and technical support have helped firms in the sector to surmount difficulties and develop sustainably by moving to produce more value added items, he stated.
Among Vietnamese spices, peppercorn has gained a foothold on the international market and holds a lion’s share in export revenues.
At present, demand for peppercorn and others has been on the rise while global exports of such products decline due to difficulties caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Vietnamese firms have worked to gradually meet more stringent requirements of foreign trade partners and are able to provide added value products with high quality and food safety.
Tai advised localities and firms to devise production recovery plans, apply advanced technologies, diversify products and capitalise on recent new-generation free trade agreements that Vietnam is a signatory to bolster exports once COVID-19 is brought under control.
Speaking at the event, First Secretary and Head of the Vietnamese Trade Office in Saudi Arabia Tran Trong Kim, said the Middle East nation consumes many kinds of spices, mainly imports from foreign countries, including Vietnam, adding that the country is having a high demand for organic food and spices.
Statistics showed that Vietnam shipped products worth 225 million USD to Saudi Arabia in the first seven months of this year. The country rakes in an average of 10 million USD from exports of spices to Saudi Arabia each year.
Coastal localities brace themselves for storm Conson
Northern coastal provinces are set to evacuate close to 800,000 people as tropical storm Conson has entered the East Sea to become the fifth typhoon set to hit the country this year.
According to a report from the Border Guard Command, up to this morning, as many as 71,500 ships and boats along side nearly 350,000 people have been updated on the developments of the storm in order to take preventive measures or move out of danger areas.
The National Center for Meteorological and Hydrological Forecasting reported that over the course of the next 24 hours, storm Conson will track northwest at a speed of between 15km and 20km per hour, during which time it is likely to become stronger.
Colonel Pham Hai Chau, deputy head of the Office of the National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Response, Search, and Rescue, revealed that over 500,000 military servicemen and militias, along with 2,000 vehicles, have now been mobilised to cope with the fallout from the storm.
Along with another active typhoon on the East Sea named Chanthu, it is expected that there will be rough seas and strong winds in the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago during the next 48 hours.
Due to the impact of the tropical convergence, it is likely that torrential rains will hit the northern mountainous region, with large rainfalls being recorded in the localities of Son La and Yen Bai and provinces from Thanh Hoa to Quang Binh.
As of September 9 morning, Conson destroyed over 3,000 houses, and caused 19 people to go missing in the Philippines, with more than 10,000 people being evacuated to safer areas. Total damage was estimated at more than US$3.8 million./.