Many Vietnamese farmers and enterprises exporting red-flesh dragon fruits to Japan are worried about a new regulation that requires dragon fruit exports to have planting area codes. The difficulty lies in the fact that Japan allows only the LD1 dragon fruit variety, one that belongs to a private company in Long An Province, southern Vietnam. As the regulation has just been issued, many local exporting enterprises will fail to meet it and have to sell their dragon fruit at wholesale markets, suffering huge losses. In mid-January, five shipping containers of some 70 metric tons of red-fresh dragon fruits worth US$190,000 from Yasaka Fruit Processing Co. Ltd., which specializes in exporting fruits to Japan, failed to be shipped to Japan. A phytosanitary center under Vietnam's Plant Protection Department announced that both white- and red-flesh dragon fruit exports to Japan must have planting area codes. Nguyen Trong Trung Dung, deputy director of Yasaka Fruit Processing Co. … [Read more...] about Vietnam dragon fruit exports to Japan impeded by new regulations
Suspended by new york state athletic commission indefinitely
F&B cooperatives seize new opportunities amid economic difficulties
Some food and beverage products from a cooperative in Ben Tre province attract consumers. (Photo: vnbusiness.vn) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - After the Lunar New Year holiday, many cooperatives, especially those in the food and beverage (F&B) sector, have accelerated their production to fulfil domestic and export orders. Ly Hong Tien, Director of Hau Giang Xanh Cooperative in Hau Giang province, told vnbusiness.vn that thanks to the links her cooperative has established with distributors, it was completing many orders of processed that lat fish to serve local demand and that for exports. According to experts, though economic difficulties would continue in 2023, there remained untapped business opportunities for small firms and cooperatives in the F&B industry. Experts said that when an economy was unstable, investors intended to return to industries with high demand as the F&B sector is an essential industry. A recent report by iPOS.vn said that Vietnam had around 338,600 … [Read more...] about F&B cooperatives seize new opportunities amid economic difficulties
Politburo meets former Party, State leaders
Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong speaks at the event (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - The Politburo on February 6 held a meeting with former senior leaders of the Party, State and Vietnam Fatherland Front on the occasion of the 93rd anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) and the Lunar New Year. Participating former leaders all expressed their belief in and pride of positive outcomes that the country has achieved in the past time. In the hope of boosting the quality and effectiveness of the Party and State leadership in 2023 and the following years, they made recommendations and proposals mostly regarding the building of the Party and political system, external affairs, socio-economic development and anti-corruption work, among other issues. Taking into account their comments, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong noted that last year’s outstanding achievements, particularly in pandemic prevention and control, economic recovery and development, … [Read more...] about Politburo meets former Party, State leaders
Pressure on to support new economic growth
The latest move from the Fed marked eight consecutive rate hikes since March 2022, with no signs that it has reached the peak of its hike journey. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dinh Trong Thinh, a financial expert from the Vietnam Association of Financial Advisers, predicted that a rate hike of 25 percentage points was anticipated. Thinh stated that, in general, the pressure on the USD/VND exchange rate from the Fed’s interest rate hike is not significant. Pressure on to support new economic growth, photo Le Toan Dr. Le Dang Doanh, former head of the Central Institute for Economic Management, also believes that the Fed’s interest rate rise is targeted to contain inflation in the US, since inflation has begun to fall from the previous year’s low level. The USD price will adjust as a result. “A change in the price will influence the exchange rate between it and VND, impacting import-export businesses and foreign-invested enterprises,” said Doanh. On the other hand, deposit interest … [Read more...] about Pressure on to support new economic growth
Major earthquake kills 3,700 in Turkey and Syria, weather hits survivors
The magnitude 7.8 quake brought down whole apartment blocks in Turkish cities and piled more devastation on millions of Syrians displaced by years of war. It struck before sunrise in harsh weather and was followed in the early afternoon by another large quake. In Diyarbakir in southeast Turkey, a woman speaking next to the wreckage of the seven-storey block where she lived said: "We were shaken like a cradle. There were nine of us at home. Two sons of mine are still in the rubble, I'm waiting for them." She was nursing a broken arm and had injuries to her face. "It was like the apocalypse," said Abdul Salam al-Mahmoud, a Syrian in the northern town of Atareb. "It's bitterly cold and there's heavy rain, and people need saving." The earthquake was the biggest recorded worldwide by the U.S. Geological Survey since a tremor in the remote South Atlantic in August 2021. In Turkey, the death toll stood at 2,316, the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said, making … [Read more...] about Major earthquake kills 3,700 in Turkey and Syria, weather hits survivors
VnExpress Marathon Ho Chi Minh City Midnight sets ground rules for the race
Runners of the five km distance are required to complete their race in one hour 15 minutes, 10km distance in two hours, 21km distance in two hours and 42km distance in six and a half hours. At each kilometer, COT is calculated in the form of a projection. Runners in the four distances of the VnExpress Marathon Ho Chi Minh City Midnight will start close to each other, between midnight and 1:15 a.m. on February 12. At midnight, the 42-kilometer runners will start the race. At 12:30 a.m., the 5-kilometer and 10-kilometer runners will begin. The 21 kilometers runners will take off at 1:15 a.m. The starting gate is on Truong Dinh Street along Tao Dan Park. Due to the early departure, runners will get a clear view of Saigon at night. After the final distance runners have left, the city center’s cafes and restaurants will still be bustling. Timetable for the four distances in VnExpress Marathon Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VM The organizers will open a delivery … [Read more...] about VnExpress Marathon Ho Chi Minh City Midnight sets ground rules for the race
Taiwanese pop star dances to Vietnamese viral hit
Tsai uploaded the video on Instagram, which shows her dancing to "See Tinh" with friends, in early May, and it was shared widely on social media and forums. Many of her fans downloaded the video as they love her dancing. Tsai's fanpage manager credits "See Tinh" in the caption for the video: "Jolin Tsai’s first show in the new year is a dance to Hoang Thuy Linh’s viral song on Douyin." Douyin is the Chinese version of TikTok. Tsai, 43, is the most successful singer in Taiwan. Dubbed the "Queen of C-Pop", she is considered one of the most influential artists in Chinese pop culture. She's also credited as a key figure in mainstream dance-pop music in China. The "See Tinh" fever is continuing to spread on Douyin and other video platforms in China. For its virality, the Chinese media called it a "superhit." Videos of people using and dancing to this tune have exceeded four billion views. Many people said they feel like this song is everywhere recently. The fans love "See Tinh" for … [Read more...] about Taiwanese pop star dances to Vietnamese viral hit
Training course opened for Party Central Committee’s alternate members
Participants at the opening of the course (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics (HCMA) and the Party Central Committee’s Organisation Commission on February 5 opened a training course to update knowledge for alternate members of the 13th Party Central Committee. Addressing the opening ceremony, permanent member of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat Vo Van Thuong underlined the significance of the Party’s personnel training work. The 6-week course will focus on 29 topics covering such contents as those associated with the documents of the 13th National Party Congress and the 13th Party Central Committee’s meetings regarding the Party and State building, the promotion of socio-economic, cultural and human development as well as security, defence, external relations, and leadership and management science in the new situation. Permanent member of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat Vo Van Thuong addresses the opening of the course … [Read more...] about Training course opened for Party Central Committee’s alternate members
Average electricity retail price bracket increases
Workers of Viet Nam Electricity check the transmission system. The bracket of average electricity retail prices has been increased to VND1,826.22 per kWh for the floor price and 2,444.09 for the ceiling price. — VNA/VNS Photo Huy Hung The bracket of average electricity retail prices has been increased to VND1,826.22 per kWh for the floor price and 2,444.09 for the ceiling price, according to the Prime Minister’s Decision No 02/2023/QD-TTg dated on February 3. Compared to the previous bracket, which has been applied since 2017, the floor price increased by VND220 and the ceiling price by VND538 per kWh. The adjustment of the bracket would not immediately impact prices. The bracket and the inspection results of the electricity production and business costs in 2022 would be the base for the Ministry of Industry to decide on the average electricity retail price for this year. The Ministry of Industry and Trade recently urged Viet Nam Electricity (EVN) to urgently complete the … [Read more...] about Average electricity retail price bracket increases
EV startup Vinfast to cut US jobs amid restructuring
The Vietnamese company, a subsidiary of conglomerate Vingroup JSC (VIC.HM), has been moving to expand in the United States, where it hopes to compete with existing automakers. A VinFast spokesperson said headcount would not shrink in Vietnam where most of the company's staff, including its factory and engineering operations, are located. It was not immediately clear how many jobs would be affected by the U.S. restructuring. VinFast said it had hired about 150 people in the United States, many in sales, support and distribution roles as part of a model that bypasses traditional dealerships. The company, which started operations in 2019, said last week that it would delay its first batch of deliveries to the United States to the second half of February. In late January, VinFast said it was merging its U.S. and Canadian operations into a single business unit. It did not announce any job cuts at the time. VinFast said in a statement to Reuters it was looking to "streamline" … [Read more...] about EV startup Vinfast to cut US jobs amid restructuring