Agriculture

The ideas of converting vacant industrial zones, construction sites, and low-yield cultivation lands of Hanoi into creative spaces bring high hope for improving the spiritual life of the Hanoians. Train District 4.0, a creative space on the basis of the old Gia Lam Train Factory, has become one of the most anticipated projects in the capital city. The old Gia Lam Train Factory would be an attactive creative space of the capital in the near future. Photo: VCCI Built in 1905 by the French to fix trains for their fast-developing Vietnamese colony, Gia Lam Train Factory was the first train factory in the then-French territory, which spanned modern-day Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. It later churned out weapons to fuel the country's independence fight, and then survived the onslaught of American bombers during the war. Enjoyed its heyday during the 1980s and 1990s, Gia Lam Railways was considered a symbol of the capital’s industrial revolution. It offered dozen …

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The EVFTA, which took effect on August 1 last year, has given an impulse to bilateral exportation and importation, with Vietnam currently recording a trade surplus with the EU. In the first half of 2021, the country’s exports to the EU stood at US$19.3 billion while imports from this bloc grew 17.2 percent from a year earlier to $8.14 billion. The import turnover was $14.65 billion in 2020, up 4.3 percent year on year. The largest EU exporters to Vietnam consist of Germany, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Sweden, and Ireland, which accounted for 85 percent of the country’s total imports from the EU last year. Computers, electronic products and components; machinery, equipment, tools, and spare parts; along with pharmaceutical products are the main groups of items with billions-of-US-dollar imports from the EU. They saw respective import turnover of $4.1 billion, $3.1 billion, and $1.75 billion last year, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs. …

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Nguyen Thi Hong Tham, owner of Xuyen A slaughterhouse in Ho Chi Minh City’s Cu Chi District - one of the large private pig slaughterhouses in Ho Chi Minh City, said that before the epidemic, Xuyen A slaughtered about 1,500 pigs per day on average. When the epidemic broke out, following the direction of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, the establishment invested over VND100 million in building accommodation and toilets for employees to meet the city’s requirement of Covid-19 prevention task. However, many employees in the establishment were found to be infected by coronavirus; accordingly, the establishment decided to suspend operations to ensure the safety of workers. Director To Van Liem Xuan of Thoi Thuong Slaughterhouse in Hoc Mon District said that the factory is still operating with only three out of 13 assembly lines with a capacity of about 1,000 pigs a day. Previously, the factory had called up workers to stay in the slaughterhouse for continued production, …

[Read more...] about Workers infected with Covid-19, atabattoirs in HCMC reduce operating capacity

Dr Pham Trong Nghia suggested that the Government have scenarios on epidemic developments with different levels, possible impacts, solutions and policy adjustments in both the short and long term. Based on the current epidemic situation and the United Nations' guidance, Dr Pham Trong Nghia, director of the Legislative Science Information Center, Institute for Legislative Research under the National Assembly Standing Committee, said that Vietnam can consider and apply five pillars to cope with the Covid-19 epidemic. Dr Pham Trong Nghia. “Along with the fast, complicated and unpredictable development of the Covid-19 epidemic in our country, in parallel with the current measures, as well as the use of stronger legal tools approved by the National Assembly during this session, the Government needs to quickly develop a master plan on Covid-19 prevention and control," Nghia told VietNamNet on the sidelines of the first session of the 15th National Assembly (NA), which …

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The Cao Lan, one of two branches of the San Chay living in a number of northern mountain and midland provinces, often wear their traditional clothes to celebrate important life events, spring ceremonies, and festivals. The Cao Lan group often wear their traditional costumes during festivals. (Photo: svhtttuyenquang) The Cao Lan people live mostly in Thanh Son and Dap Thanh communes, or scattered throughout Ba Che District. During festivals, New Year celebrations, and call-and-response singing ceremonies, they always wear their traditional costumes. Women wear a calf-length shirt which has a brown top and indigo lower part.  When they go to festive events, they wear a red and indigo shirt. The shirt looks simple but actually it is sophisticatedly cut. It has a wrap collar that goes under the right armpit. Vi Thị Tuyen of Ba Che District’s Culture Office says, “The clothes of the Cao Lan have embroidery patterns of plants, flowers, the sun, the stars, and human …

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A police officer checks a delivery person in HCM City’s District 3. The city has created a database on delivery workers to ensure travel restrictions are not violated. — Photo thanhnien.vn HCM CITY — To ensure smooth delivery and distribution of essential goods amid the COVID-19 restrictions, the HCM City Department of Industry and Trade has created a database of delivery staff that can be easily accessed by inspectors and notified the public about businesses that sell essential products. It has apprised district authorities, the police and others about how to identify various people such as shippers working for delivery services and those supplying meals to hospitals, quarantine zones and other facilities, a key factor in combating the pandemic. People delivering for e-commerce companies need to be in uniforms and have a travel permit issued by their employers and employee identity card. Information about the shippers’ vehicles, address and delivery route are easily …

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Vegetables being loaded into a bus belonging to Bao Yen Construction Services Tourism Co., Ltd. in HCM City last week. Five such buses are being used to distribute vegetables around the city. (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNS/VNA) - I was surprised to receive a call from an American friend who lives in Singapore, asking about the pandemic situation in Ho Chi Minh City , Vietnam’s current COVID-19 epicentre with a daily record of thousands of cases. He was concerned that the situation could spin “out of control”, comparing it to India or Indonesia. I told my friend that he had called at a good time as I had just read a news story from the Singapore-based The Straits Times, headlined “Vietnam grapples with public frustration over COVID-19 pandemic missteps and transparency”, mentioning the growing unhappiness about the pandemic control measures. The story, I believe, described the situation in a superficial way. I have closely observed the global situation, especially …

[Read more...] about Vietnam ensures people’s livelihoods, fair distribution of vaccines