Ngoc Thao from HCMC, 32, said that one kilogram of bacon now costs between VND150,000-180,000 ($6.43-7.72), depending on whether it is purchased at a traditional wet market or a supermarket. Cheaper cuts of pork, such as cutlet and thigh, range from VND100,000-130,000 per kilogram, which is twice or thrice the price of chicken. "The prices of vegetables, spices and many other things have skyrocketed, but my salary remains unchanged, so I must cut back on my spending on expensive stuff," she said, sighing. "Now our family has meat only for one or two meals per week." A VnExpress survey of livestock farms at the end of June found that the price of live pigs had crossed VND60,000 per kg, a slight increase from previous days. The majority of farmers said the price has increased because the cost of animal feed has increased. Prices of new born pigs have also increased by 20 percent compared to two months ago. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and … [Read more...] about As prices rise, Vietnamese fork out less for pork
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‘They’re everywhere’: microplastics in oceans, air and human body
From ocean depths to mountain peaks, humans have littered the planet with tiny shards of plastic. We have even absorbed these microplastics into our bodies -- with uncertain implications. Images of plastic pollution have become familiar: a turtle suffocated by a shopping bag, water bottles washed up on beaches, or the monstrous "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" of floating detritus. Millions of tonnes of plastic produced every year, largely from fossil fuels, make their way into the environment and degrade into smaller and smaller pieces. "We did not imagine 10 years ago that there could be so many small microplastics, invisible to the naked eye, and that they were everywhere around us," said Jean-Francois Ghiglione, a researcher at the Laboratory of Microbial Oceanography in France. "And we could not yet envisage finding them in the human body". Now scientific studies are increasingly detecting microplastics in some human organs -- including "the lungs, spleen, kidneys, and … [Read more...] about ‘They’re everywhere’: microplastics in oceans, air and human body
VN Trade Promotion Department lauds ASEAN export opportunites
Steel roll production lines at Hoa Phat Steel Sheet Co., Ltd, located in the Pho Nui A Industrial Park in the northern province of Hung Yen. Steel is one of key export products from Viet Nam to Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. — VNA/VNS Photo Vu Sinh Vietnamese businesses have many opportunities to increase export goods to Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, according to the Trade Promotion Department of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy, deputy director of the Export Support Center, said that Viet Nam had many favourable conditions for exporting goods to Thailand and Laos because the three countries were close geographically, and members of various free trade agreements. To meet the demand of customers in Thailand and Laos, domestic enterprises are recommended to export goods reaching technical standards and to have import certificates from authorities. They also need to apply advanced technology in processing and preserving products to ensure the quality of … [Read more...] about VN Trade Promotion Department lauds ASEAN export opportunites