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Any views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation. Species that survive in the wild are tough. This doesn’t just apply to wild animals; wild relatives of crops have a whole host of traits that make them stronger than their common cousins that we know as the fruits, roots and vegetables we eat. As the effects of climate change tighten their grip on our food supply, and higher temperatures and erratic rains make it harder for the world’s farmers to grow the food we demand, we need to lean on these wild species. We need them to be available for plant scientists to use, to breed more resilient crops.

Prices that Vietnamese farmers are receiving for export-ready pangasius have risen amid a shortfall in pangasius seed that seems set to continue, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said.According to VASEP, export-ready prices rose from VND 21,500 per kilogram ($0.96 per kg), to more than VND 22,500 last week. That price rise is being provoked by an even sharper increase in pangasius seed. Seed prices rose from VND 20,000/kg to VND 34,000/kg last week, according to VASEP. And in mid March alone, there's been a VND 3,000/kg price rise the agency said, due to a shortage of seed supply in the Mekong Delta.

HA NOI  (VNS) — The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) inaugurated the Viet Nam-Korea Free Trade Agreement (VKFTA) Support Centre in Ha Noi yesterday.
The centre aims at disseminating areas related to the FTA as well as supporting businesses of the two countries to make use of the FTA, which came into effect on December 20, 2015, to boost commercial transaction and investment. The VKFTA covers many areas including certificate of origin, trade protection, hygiene and food safety, and plant quarantine, apart from technical barriers to trade and service, investment, intellectual property, competition and other legal issues.

Dragon fruit production in Vietnam is different in a number of ways when compared to the Philippines. In the Philippines, dragon fruit farmers are usually on their own growing the fruit crop on limited farm lots. The bigger ones in the Philippines like Refmad Farm of Edita Dacuycuy in Burgos, Ilocos Norte, grow their dragon fruit on about 10 hectares or a bit more. In other places like Pangasinan, Cavite and elsewhere, the area planted may not exceed 10 hectares. Many are growing their dragon fruit on even less than a hectare.

HÀ NỘI (VNS) — The local cashew industry has seen a spike in cashew prices, marking a 10 year record high, mostly due to increasing global prices. As reported by Vietnam News Agency, a kilogramme of raw cashew nuts can now be sold for VNĐ32,000 (US$1.4), and a kilogramme of dried cashew nuts fetches VNĐ40,000, the highest prices recorded in the past 10 years. Việt Nam Cashew Association (Vinacas)’s chairman Nguyá»…n Đức Thanh said that cashew exporters are also buying cashew nuts from local farmers at higher prices.

Vietnam Farm and Food Expo 2016 is the place for gathering, displaying agricultural products and foods as well, creating multi-dimensional business opportunities on various aspects:

Offer opportunities of sampling the best services and products in agricultural and food industry to enterprises and farmers. Additionally, enterprises and farmers can advance their scientific and technical knowlege in agricultural field via specialized seminars which are organized at the fair.

Bringing opportunities for enterprises and farmers to approach and apply science and technology in productiona business in order to improve the quality, productivity and service as well as time and cost saving method for enterprises.

Bringing together within the same business sector, connecting domestic and international enterprises, promoting opportunities for learning and mutual cooperation cost production and promoting commerce for domestic enterprise expansion overseas.

Vietnamese rice export prices rose to near five-month high this week, pushed by China's buying and demand for loading government deals, while Thai rice prices were steady on thin demand, traders said on Wednesday. An absence of new deals due to rising prices in Vietnam and thin demand for Thai rice suggest importing nations have yet to rush for new purchases, even though import demand has been forecast to rise this year, according to a BMI Research report issued on March 8. 

Australian grain growers who are currently in Vietnam say that they see big opportunities for Australian wheat and barley in the region. Ross Johns, a grain grower from the Wimmera in Victoria said that he had not been to Vietnam previously, and was surprised how well grains were represented. "There's a real strength of demand throughout Asia, both in China and Vietnam. I'm actually shocked at the enthusiasm for western-type diets," he said.

The monthly expenses for food of each Vietnamese in 2015 was more than VND470,000 ($22), according to data from the General Statistics Office.

Vietnam’s homegrown diversified conglomerate  Masan Group will be competing with South Korea’s CJ Cheiljedang Corp (CJ) in a bid to acquire strategic 14 per cent stake in food processor Vissan – the latest of the state-owned companies to have had an IPO as part of the ongoing privatisation spiral. Vissan general director Van Duc Muoi, in an interview with local press, revealed that Vietnam French Cattle Feed JSC (Proconco) and Agro Nutrition Company (Anco), two subsidiaries that Masan had acquired last year, have each submitted bids for the entire equity interest (14 per cent) that the Vissan is offering at the auction .

Announces for the first time release of huge amounts of Mekong water. China has embarked on an unprecedented "water diplomacy" mission to alleviate the ongoing drought in Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam by discharging massive quantities of fresh water downstream from one of its dams in its southern region. The emergency water supply from the Chinese Jinghong hydropower station will last one month from March 15 until April 10, marking the first time China has informed downstream countries in advance of its water-discharge schedule, said Nuanla-or Wongpinitwarodom, director of the Mekong River resources management office at the Department of Water Resources.

Four large State-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the agriculture sector are to be equitized before 2020: the Vietnam Rubber Group, the Vietnam Southern Food Corporation, the Vietnam Northern Food Corporation, and the Vietnam Coffee Corporation (Vinacafe).
 

HANOI - Ready-to-eat tomatoes, and lettuce, grown without soil, and consumed unwashed, are the future in Vietnam and people will soon have the chance to experience this form of ‘smart agriculture’. This year, this IT-based agricultural project will experiment on growing high-value-added vegetables including medium-sized tomatoes and low-potassium leaf lettuce that will be the source of clean, ready-to-eat food. The potassium content in this kind of lettuce is one-fifth as compared with lettuce grown in any ordinary way making it suitable for diabetics and people who are on a diet.
 

HCM CITY (VNS) —  Rice exports have surged in the first two months as many of last year’s contracts are being executed this year, according to the Việt Nam Food Association.

The country exported more than 856,219 tonnes for US$347.8 million, a year-on-year increase of 101.89 per cent and 81.73 per cent, and Huỳnh Minh Huệ, VFA general secretary, indicated there had been too many orders to handle last year, including some large government contracts with Indonesia and the Philippines.

Đà Lạt in winter is too cool for people like myself who live in HCM City, while it is ideal for foreign tourists escaping freezing weather in their home countries. After wandering about town one day, I visited a café to warm up. Nestled on a charming corner of a hill at Đà Lạt’s Ba Tháng Hai and Thủ Khoa Huân streets, and surrounded by old sakura trees, An Café has a poetic view.

Two of the most popular street foods in Vietnam – pho and banh mi – are coming to Butchertown this summer, when Pho Ba Luu opens. The fast, casual restaurant is underway at Butcherblock Properties, a nine-building complex from Andy Blieden at 1009–1019 East Main Street. The traditionally made broth and noodle soup - called pho - will be the star attraction. Founding partners Mimi Ha (managing partner of August Moon) and Jessica Mach have spent months perfecting the recipe, said partner Stewart Davis, who's engaged to Mach.