Agricultural Commodities

A recent report by the National Assembly economic committee addressed the government’s aim to reduce land used for growing rice in Vietnam over the next five years. The plan is mentioned in the evaluation report on the national scheme to adjust land use planning by 2020 and the last five-year plan for land use (2016-2020). The reduction was proposed by the Vietnamese government and approved by the assembly’s Committee for Economic Affairs. Presenting the evaluation report, Nguyen Van Giau, chairman of the committee, said the government recommended that by 2020 there should be 3.76 million hectares of land used for growing rice, a 270,000ha reduction from 2015.

Vietnam’s fisheries are expected to have produced 827,000MT in the first two months of 2016, representing a 3.1% increase on the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The main gains come from capture with an increase of 3.7% to 476,000MT. Aquaculture comprises  351,000MT – a 2.3% rise from last year.

An ethnic minority village in the northern province of Lai Chau has recently gained popularity as a homestay spot due to its amazing array of ground orchids. Sin Suoi Ho Village is nestled in a namesake commune in Phong Tho District, at one end of Hoang Lien Son Range, which is one of the most spectacular mountain chains in the northwestern region, spanning the provinces of Lao Cai, Lai Chau and Yen Bai.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Taiwan, Vietnam and Philippines are emerging markets with promising opportunities for EU and US pork exporters, AHDB Pork said. Taiwan has the highest meat consumption per capita in Asia, with pork at around 39 kg per head. Although most of its consumption is served by domestic production, with self-sufficiency in 2013 reaching around 93 per cent. Taiwan was hit with an outbreak of porcine epidemic diarrhoea virus (PEDv), which caused the loss of 150,000 piglets and a 10-year high in domestic pig prices. 

Vietnam’s meat market is expected to be hit by the entry of many more European products following the enforcement of the European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement in early 2018. Under the agreement’s (EVFTA) commitments, Vietnam will have to open its market up to a wide range of EU primary and processed meat products, allowing EU high-quality exports to reach the growing middle class consumer base in Vietnam. The EVFTA, due to be ratified later this year, is expected to scrap over 99% of import tariffs imposed by both Vietnam and the EU, as well as completely erase non-tariff trade barriers.

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.

Scientists are developing more resistant varieties of rice to help farmers in Vietnam adapt to climate change, amid the country’s worst drought in 90 years. The drought, as well as the related flow of saltwater upriver, has destroyed 159,000 hectares of rice paddies and left almost one million people lacking drinking water, according to a new UN report. Another half million hectares are expected to be damaged by mid-year.

There is nothing unusual, not in this era, about being a tiny, artisanal, single-origin chocolate maker. But the artisanal, award-winning chocolate I’ve come to see is being manufactured by a tiny operation called Marou in a factory on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City, with beans that were hand-picked on a skinny strip of an island called Tan Phu Dong in the Mekong Delta. Vietnamese chocolate is unlike any other. It’s made mostly from a bean called trinitario, an 18th-century blend of forastero — the high-yield bean now used by Big Chocolate — and the rarer, more nuanced criollo. Marou’s chocolate has a particular complexity and variability, because unlike most chocolate makers, they can create theirs from beans they select at the source. This means they have control of everything, from farm to bar. The result is chocolate with unusual aromas — licorice, say, or tobacco.

Vietnam has taken a big step towards the development of a national forest certification system in line with the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) requirements, following the approval of Decision 83 by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), which establishes a Vietnam Forest Certification Scheme (VFCS) Programme.

The forecast that Vietnam would become a leading flower export center in Asia mentioned in a Japanese journal has raised a debate about the potential of Vietnam in exporting fresh flower.  With ideal conditions in soil and climate, Vietnam in general and Lam Dong province in particular is considered the ‘golden land’ for developing tropical and temperate flowers. The favorable conditions have helped attract more and more foreign investors to Lam Dong province. They have developed growing areas, provided cultivation technique and helped establish distribution centers. 

A coffee enthusiast fascinated with its origins, Cal State Fullerton assistant professor of anthropology Sarah Grant became intrigued with the Vietnamese coffee industry after researching its history. Her interest in the Vietnamese coffee industry and the obstacles facing coffee farmers in the country has led her to 10 years of research in the topic. “Ultimately my research isn’t just about the coffee -- it’s about Vietnamese in coffee-producing regions grappling with loss, opportunity, ambition, rapid economic development and subsequent stagnation and dreams about the future,” said Grant, who specializes in economic anthropology.

HCM CITY (VNS) — Despite some encouraging results, Viet Nam's cocoa sector has not enjoyed stable development in the past decade, a review meeting heard in HCM City yesterday. Nguyen Van Hoa, deputy head of the Crop Production Department, said in the past years annual output had been 5,000-6,000 tonnes of cocoa beans. Farming models intercropping cocoa with coconut or cashew had offered high yields, he said. Companies had done research to come up with cocoa-based products and use cocoa shells to grow mushroom or turn them into fertiliser, he said.