Consumers in the UK have been increasingly keen on Vietnam’s rice, especially after ST25 was honored as the best rice variety in the world in 2019, Nguyen Canh Cuong, trade counselor at the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper. UK companies have paid much attention to Vietnam’s rice due to a higher demand in their country and incentives in the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA). In particular, the UK has waived the import tariff on Vietnam’s fragrant rice instead of imposing a 17.4-percent tax rate as earlier. Vietnam’s rice value on the rise According to statistics from the Vietnam Trade Office in the UK, the European country’s rice imports from Vietnam rose in 2020 and 2021. In 2020, before the UKVFTA took effect, Vietnam’s rice exports to the UK surged to some 3,400 metric tons worth US$2.67 million from nearly 1,300 metric tons in the previous year. Vietnam’s rice exports to the UK fell 20 percent in volume but inched up four percent … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s rice increasingly preferred in UK
Goods transportation
Durian prices hit record high as demand surges
Durian purchased by traders and waiting to be packed and shipped to China in Tien Giang Province. — Photo vnexpress.net Durian is being purchased by traders in Mekong Delta region for VND150,000-190,000(US$6.4-8.1) a kilogramme, three times higher than the same period last year and the highest level ever. The reason for the high price of durian is that durian is still off-season and supply is low. Meanwhile, strong demand is coming from the Chinese market as well as domestic markets. Huynh Tan Loc, director of the Ngu Hiep Durian Co-operative in Tien Giang Province’s Cai Lay District, said the prices of the fruit have increased sharply since the beginning of this year. The country’s largest durian producing province has more than 17,000ha of the fruit, mostly in the Cai Lay, Cai Be and Chau Thanh districts and Cai Lay Town. The orchards have an average yield of 20-25 tonnes per hectare and farmers harvesting now can earn VND1-1.5 billion ($43,000-64,000) per hectare, the … [Read more...] about Durian prices hit record high as demand surges
Disbursement of public investment to be accelerated in 2023
The public investment assigned to the transport ministry in 2023 was the largest ever. — Photo kinhtedothi.vn Viet Nam has been accelerating the disbursement of public investment since the beginning of this year after missing its target in 2022. The National Assembly approved the public investment plan with a total capital of over VND700 trillion (US$29.85 billion) in 2023, VND140 trillion higher than the plan in 2022 and VND260 trillion higher than 2021. At the Government’s monthly meeting last Thursday, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh called for management to be enhanced to speed up the progress of major projects, especially key traffic works. “The disbursement of public investment must be accelerated from the beginning of the year,” he stressed, adding that the focus must be on the project preparation works and capital allocation. Agencies and localities were also gearing up for the disbursement of public investment. Ha Noi and HCM City - the country's economic … [Read more...] about Disbursement of public investment to be accelerated in 2023