Europe acquiring taste for Viet Nam products

HCM CITY — Demand for some traditional Vietnamese foods and agricultural products is emerging in Europe, according to a company that exports them.

Tien Giang-based Long Uyen Ltd Company said it recently shipped a mixed consignment of banh it (glutinous rice cake), banh tet (cylindrical glutinous rice cake), banh chung (square glutinous rice cake), sweet corn, taro, manioc, and others and all 20 tonnes were consumed within two weeks.

Overseas Vietnamese living there, who used to buy locally-made cakes, have now switched to buying products made in their homeland and supermarkets placed an order for another 20 tonnes, Phan Quoc Nam, the company's general director, said.

Instant coffee plant construction begins

DAK LAK — Construction of Asia's largest instant coffee processing plant, worth US$18 million, in the Central Highlands province of Daêk Lak, started last Friday.

Covering an area of 24ha, the wholly Indian-invested plant will produce 10,000 tonnes annually when it begins operating next year.

Daêk Lak Province has 184,500ha planted in coffee with an annual output of between 380,000-400,000 tonnes.

Trade fair results in $4.5m contracts

CAN THO — More 130 trade contracts valued at VND85 billion (US$4.5 million) were signed during the International Trade Fair which closed its door late last week in southern Can Tho City.

The six-day event, showcasing IT, pharmaceutical products, cosmetics, agricultural machines, medical equipment and garments, attracted more than 130,000 international and domestic visitors.

It attracted 403 stalls of 162 businesses from HCM City and the southern provinces of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Tay Ninh and Dong Nai, as well as 400 stalls of foreign businesses from the US, Japan, mainland China, Indonesia and Taiwan.

Handicraft exports have growth spurt

HA NOI _ Handicraft exports have grown 20 per cent a year, said An Van Khanh, deputy head of product processing and trade under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

During the first eight months, bamboo-made products and pottery and ceramic products experienced good export performance, at US$135 million and $200 million respectively. — VNS