While apricot farmers in Ho Chi Minh City are greatly concerned by their trees’ early blossoming, their counterparts in some Mekong Delta provinces are worried their flowers will not bloom in time to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

Even worse is the fact that the ratio of flowers damaged during the planting process due to bad weather is also high.

Nguyen Thoi Nhiem, a resident of the My Phong flower village in My Tho city of Tien Giang Province, said 30 percent of the flowers he is growing are likely to bloom long after the Tet holiday, which falls on January 23rd.

“This is because of the continual rains, hot sunlight, and light force of the northeast wind,” Nhiem explained.

Nhiem is tending a field of 6,000 flowerpots of mums, chrysanthemums and marigolds.

My Phong flower village is expected to supply local and HCMC markets with 700,000 flowerpots of different kinds for the Lunar New Year.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Hoai Phong of Ben Tre said as much as 50 percent of his flowerpots will not flourish on time, with disadvantageous weather remaining the main culprit.

Many traders have thus forced him to sell at low prices, Phong said.

“They charge me only VND50,000 (US$2.3) for a pot of mums.”

In Dong Thap, flower farmers are also worried, since the ratio of late-blossoming flowers in this locality is expected to be as high as 50 percent.

The province will market 2.5 million flowerpots for the Tet holiday this year, local agricultural authorities said.

source form: tuoitrenews

The five-day annual Flower Festival in the Central Highlands city of Da Lat just concluded on January 3 but it did not seem to meet the expectations of visitors hoping to see a more sophisticated festival.

After spending 3 days visiting and attending the “Da Lat – The Flower Festival City” festival, Ngo Lan Phuong and her husband Nguyen Ngoc Trung from the southern city of Vung Tau said the event did not deserve to be called a festival.

“We are standing at Xuan Huong Lake, the festival’s center, but could not see many flowers within a 6-km perimeter around us,” Phuong said.

“What I expected was a city full of flowers, to see flowers on display everywhere, but we actually had to go around looking for them,” she added.

Local residents and tourists who know the city well could easily see that the organizers just displayed a poor selection of flowers in front of Da Lat Market and the Quan Yin Pagoda. In previous festivals, these areas were brimful of flowers and open to the public free of charge.

This year, the only place tourists could find flowers in relative abundance was the Cu Hill, where the Da Lat Flower Association joined hands with the golf course to create a flower garden named “the Space of Beautiful Flowers” that covered over 3.3 hectares.

However, visitors had to pay VND50,000 for entrance, the highest price ever charged at Da Lat’s tourist attractions so far.

“It is meant to be the highlight of the festival, but I think it’s just slightly better than an average park. This so-called ‘flower festival’ is not a national event, and certainly not an international one,” Tu Quyen, a local said about the garden.

Nguyen Hong Chuong, an overseas student from Canada also agreed with Quyen.

“I see it as a Tet flower market, not a cultural event or a flower festival,” he complained.

For his part, Truong Van Thu, deputy chairman of Lam Dong Provincial People’s Committee and chairman of the festival organizing board, said the event was successful and attracted more tourists to the city than in previous years.

However, the official statistics announced today indicate that this year’s festival attracted around 170,000 tourists, a 50% decrease compared with last year.

Nguyen Vu Hoang, director of the province cultural center, who also designed 21 shows for the festival, said selling tickets was necessary.

“We wanted to familiarize the people with the habit of buying ticket for such events. The public should share the expenses with organizers,” Hoang said.

source form: tuoitrenews

At the Da Lat Flower Festival, which closed on January 3, visitors had a chance to see pansy bonsais with big and rough tree-trunk like camp-wood trees. Even the leaves of these trees looked stronger and bigger than leaves of normal pansy trees. Only the flowers were still frail and gentle.

Da Lat artisans also turned rose trees into bonsais, with tree-trunk diameter of up to 10-20cm. The lifespan of rose trees is only several years but a rose bonsai displayed at the festival is nearly 100 years old. This bonsai can have tens or a hundred of roses at the same time. This special rose bonsai won the gold medal at the festival.

In the late 19th century, a German botanist named M.Krempfii discovered the only community of pine trees with flat needles in the world at the Bidoup – Ba Mount National Park in Lam Dong province, which is named after krempfii as Krempf’s Pine (Pinus krempfii). This species appeared in the same age with dinosaurs. Krempf’s Pine have existed for millenniums but it almost does not have any genetic mutation.

This species is very rare but a Da Lat artisan has collected and turned a Krempf’s Pine tree into a bonsai, which was introduced at the festival.

The festival also hosted other rare bonsais, including a red pine and some three-needled pine bonsais.

Some species of vegetable also became ornamental trees at the festival, including cabbage and mustard green trees which looked like strange flowers.

Mulberry trees also became bonsais of only 40-50cm high, with tree-trunks of 10-15cm in diameter and hundreds of mulberries.

At the Da Lat Flower Festival, visitors eyed fantastic trees, which they had not seen in the real life. Below are some of unique bonsais showcased at the event:

A mulberry bonsai.

A three-needle pine bonsai.

This rose tree is nearly 100 years old.

The Krempf’s Pine bonsai.

A strange cabbage.

source form: vietnamnet

Pink lotus has been a focus of the one-week exhibition, which is represented in photography, painting, pottery, handicrafts, and ao dai designs.

The event also featured other candidates in the race to become national flower, including the yellow apricot, bamboo, peach blossoms, areca, and orchids.

Nguyen Mai Trinh, a visitor, who is a student in Danang, said, “All exhibits are very wonderful, particularly lotus paintings.”

During the flower exhibition in Hanoi on January 25-30, the lotus was the most popular choice for the national flower, with 62.2% of the votes.

The same exhibition will be held in the south to collect more ideas for national flower.

Photos captured from the exhibition in Danang:

Pink lotus, focus of exhibition

The event drew large crowds

Lotus depicted in paint

Pottery

Lotus lights

Lotus tea

Rice wrapped in lotus leaves

Paintings were especially popular

Lotus of paper

Bamboo

Bamboo signifies the traditional Vietnamese village

Some other choices for the national flower

Apricot

Peach blossom

source form: dtinews

Ho Chi Minh City Spring Flower Festival 2012 will be held at the International Square in District 3 and Tao Dan Park in District 1 from January 18 to 28, 2012.

Ho Chi Minh City Spring Flower Festival will feature various kinds of flowers. (Photo: KK)

The annual festival will feature around 6,000 exhibits of bonsai trees, ornamental plants, orchids, cacti, apricots and peach blossoms, ornamental birds and fishes, fruit arrangements and rock gardens contributed by hundreds of local and foreign artisans from flower clubs.

Visitors will have a chance to enjoy other cultural activities as well such as, don ca tai tu performance (southern amateur traditional music), folk games, a painting and calligraphy exhibition.

The annual festival is a traditional, cultural activity in Ho Chi Minh City. It is held on the occasion of Lunar New Year and attracts many visitors to the city.

In addition, the city will also open 56 Tet flower markets from January 16-22, 2012.

source form: saigon-gpdaily

Prickly. Heavy. “Oh, please don\’t let it fall on my foot.” This was the thought that entered my mind the first time I held a durian. Noble as it is ugly, this expensive fruit definitely stands alone. The Durian is seen as the king of all fruits and is highly sought after in Asia as I was informed by my good Vietnamese friend.

Durians on sale in France

Nathalie Girod holding her new favorite fruit

Praised for its exorbitant nutritional value, it is known to be eaten by pregnant Oriental women. High in iron, it is also rich in vitamin B-complex and vitamin C, minerals, potassium and essential amino acids. Amazingly your energy level stays at a nice constant rate with its great composition of fructose, sucrose and some cholesterol free fats. My friend swore by its nutritional benefits and ate it throughout her pregnancy.

So why is this incredible fruit banned in certain establishments in Asian countries? Apparently for its infectious smell which I did not understand until I had my first personal whiff. Amazingly, I found this aroma to be neither foul nor disgusting as most would expect. At first I thought I had left a great piece of cheese in the fridge, since I live in France, it happens often enough. For the next few days, this odor invaded my space, lingering long enough for me to judge for myself. The smell has an unusual mixture of fresh vomit mixed with a lush creaminess. A perfect melange of love or hate. For me, it was love at first smell. I just could not wait to taste it!

Finally the day came where I was told the fruit was ready to be opened and eaten. At last I was going to see and taste this intoxicating fruit. When I saw my friend arrive with a large butcher cleaver, I stepped back out of the way just to be safe from her wild swings. I couldn\’t believe the physical effort it took to open the armor-like shell but when it was done, all I could see were 4 to 6 buttery looking bulges cocooned in their snug shell. Without even realizing it, I scooped one of the fruit with my fingers and ate it. It was like nothing I have ever eaten before: creamy, thick, slightly stringy like a mango, smooth, sweet and addictive. I had officially joined the rest of the Durian lovers of the world.

I had recently gone to the Asian supermarket in Paris to acquire another one of these delicious fruits and much to my delight, they had just received a delivery. However, it was not as easy of a task as I had assumed it would be to pick tasty one. It is too painful and heavy to lift and squeeze with bare hands to test for its ripeness and I have no idea how to choose one by its aroma. Then this kind man wearing thick leather garden gloves came to my rescue and explained to me the basics. The armor shell should be flexible when squeezed, it should make some noise when shaken and I was told to see if there were visible lines on the outer shell then its a winner! That day I had chosen two, one to eat immediately and one to be eaten at a later date.

It is still a mystery as to why I am haunted by the Durian, maybe for its aphrodisiac claim or just simply for its compelling taste. Who knows and honestly, who cares. I just want to eat it.

source form: dtinews

Vietnamese fruit exporters say their products are being hindered by the American Food Safety Modernization Act which took effect earlier this year.

Speaking at the seminar on farm produce export to the US held in HCMC, Mai Xuan Thin, director of the fruit trading company Red Dragon, said his firm is anxious about shipments.

Since 2009, Red Dragon has smoothly exported 67 containers of dragon fruit by sea. However, the U.S. import agency has recently increased inspection frequency, taking samples of all shipments.

He said three containers of the firm had been held by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to test plant protection drug residues with the longest case up to seven days.

The problem is the American authorities have yet to issue the specific maximum residue limits, or MRL, so local exporters are unaware of the barrier. Therefore, if pesticide or fungicide residue is detected, the shipment can be cancelled.

In addition, the duration a shipment is held before clearing through customs is quite long, whereas fruit products must be sold out within seven days after arriving in the U.S. “This greatly affects exporters,” Thin stressed.

According to an American partner of Red Dragon, laboratories in the US are currently overloaded as the new statute is applied, prolonging the testing time of numerous fruit shipments.

Previously, export fruit to the U.S. must only undergo epidemic safety testing. Now the new statute requires food safety testing as well, said an expert from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

This is likely a way of setting up technical barriers, probably due to the surging volume of dragon fruit shipped to the US, he said.

Particularly, according to the Plant Protection Department, only 100 tons of dragon fruit was exported to the U.S. in 2009, but the volume jumped to 856 tons in 2010 and possibly some 1,300 tons this year.

Nguyen Tu Cuong, former director of the National Argo Forestry Fisheries Quality Assurance Department (Nafiqad), said the enactment of this statute is unfair to local fruit exporters since Vietnam’s fruit products have undergone multiple processes and local firms have strictly cooperated with the American agriculture department to have the license to enter this market.

Matthew Lantz, an expert of the USAID STAR plus project, advised Vietnam’s agricultural agencies to work with the American agriculture department to early issue specific MRL for export fruit products, preventing damage to local exporters.

source form: tuoitrenews

 

Photo: Internet

The festival will be held from December 31 to January 3 in the highlands province of Lam Dong. 

The parade will take place in the district of Hoa Binh, in the city centre. It will combine light, street art and flower decoration.

The flower show at Da Lat golf course will feature the biggest exhibition of tulips in Viet Nam.

Other events will include a flower market, an international ornamental plant exhibition, drawing competition, scientific conference and a floral fashion show.

“Most of the programmes will take place in open spaces to give visitors easy access,” Nguyen Vu Hoang, director of the festival and Lam Dong province cultural centre, said.

source from: vietnamnet

Lam Dong is the largest vegetable and fruit supplier to HCM City, accounting for 50 per cent of the latter’s consumption.

The HCM City Department of Agriculture and Rural Development estimates that the city consumes more than 800,000 tonnes of vegetables and fruits every year. The outlying rural districts in the city supply between 250,000-285,000 tonnes and rest are mainly sourced from Lam Dong (448,000 tonnes), Tien Giang (52,000 tonnes), Long An (16,000 tonnes) and Tay Ninh (4,600 tonnes).

Dong Nai, Ben Tre, Tra Vinh, Bac Lieu, Vinh Long, Dong Thap and Ha Noi are some of the other provinces and cities from where HCM City gets fruit and vegetables.

Le Thanh Liem, director of the HCM City Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said signing of the agreement with Lam Dong will go a long way towards ensuring foodstuff safety and hygiene.

Under the agreement, the Lam Dong Plant Protection Department will keep a close eye on production and processing of fruits and vegetables at farms and processing facilities, and provide advice on how to use pesticides and fertilisers in a safe manner.

It will collect foodstuff samples for testing before they are transported to HCM City and stop local farmers from overusing pesticides on vegetables and fruits.

Apart from Saigon Co.op, three wholesale markets in HCM City have also signed co-operation agreements with six vegetable trading and production companies in Lam Dong.

Nguyen Thi Hanh, general director of Saigon Co.op said such linkages were necessary now because customers’ demand for safe vegetables and fruits was increasing strongly.

Ho Phuoc Hai, director of the Binh Dien wholesale market said three wholesale markets in HCM City met 80 per cent of the city’s vegetable and fruit demand.

The signing of similar agreements will not only ensure the foodstuff safety and hygiene as well as increase prestige of wholesale markets.

Nguyen Van Tien, head of HCM City Plant Protection Department said initially, the city and Lam Dong will choose three items that are consumed the most – carrot (72,000 tonnes per year), tomato (98,000 tonnes per year) and cabbage (93,000 tonnes per year). These will be inspected from cultivation to transportation for consumption.

source from: vietnamnews.vnanet

Fruit price decreases put farmers on tenterhooks

Rambutan growers in Vinh Long, Ben Tre, Tra Vinh, Hau Giang, Can Tho and Tien Giang are weeping because the prices have plummeted. Having a bountiful crop, but farmers do not feel happy, because the sale prices are not high enough to cover the expenses. Java rambutan is now wholesaling at just 1500-2000 dong per kilo, or 3-4 times lower than that of the same period of the last year.

Nguyen Chau Khanh in Vinh Long province said that he has 2000 square meters of rambutan field, and he could earn 12 million dong from the field, while the total expenses reached 15 million dong.

Khanh complained that the rambutan price was very high several months ago, but it has unexpectedly dropped dramatically, thus bringing big losses to farmers.

The rambutan price dropped to the deepest low in Cho Lach district of Ben Tre province, where there are 2400 hectares of rambutan growing area. Farmers all have reported high output, but they feel sad because the prices are too low: they can sell rambutan for 1500 dong per kilo, while the production cost is double, 3000-5000 dong per kilo.

Bui Thanh Liem, Head of the Agriculture Division of Cho Lach district’s authorities, also said that with such low prices, farmers are incurring heavy losses.

“Rambutan is usually exported to China and South Korea. However, the consumption of the two markets has decreased over the last two years, while the domestic demand is weak, which explains why the fruit remains unsalable,” he said.

The same problem is also occurring with Vietnamese pomelo. Huynh Van Nhi from Vinh Long province complained that not only rambutan, but pomelo has also seen the prices plunging. “Now farmers can only sell pomelo to merchants at 3500 dong per kilo, while the price was 4500 dong per kilo last month,” he said.

Meanwhile, local farmers have been warned that the pomelo price would keep decreasing in the time to come, because Chinese pomelo would be available in the market in the last months of the year.

Key fruits also unsalable

A lot of fruit kiosks have been temporarily set up along the big roads in Can Tho City, including Cach Mang Thang Tam, April 30, or February 3, where fruits of different kinds, from rambutan, dragon fruits to cassava and grapes, are selling at surprisingly low prices.

Le Thi Tuoi, a fruit seller said that she can sell 300 kilos of fruits every day and earns 1000-2000 dong for every kilo sold. Especially, Tuoi said dragon fruit is the cheapest product the days, with the retail price staying at 3000 dong per kilo. Meanwhile, rambutan is retailing at 7000 dong per kilo.

Doan Van Bay from Go Cong Tay district in Tien Giang province, said that he has to carry dragon fruit to retail on the 1A highway, because the wholesale price is too low.

“Here I can sell dragon fruit at 3300 dong per kilo, while merchants only pay 2000 dong per kilo at my orchard,” he said. With the sale prices, farmers only can get enough money to pay for harvesting, while they incur the loss of 30 million dong per hectare.

It is quite a surprise that the prices of dragon fruit, a key export item, have decreased so dramatically. Dr Nguyen Huu Dat from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said that it is now the high harvesting season, therefore, the supply is higher than the demand. Therefore, Dat said that it is necessary to schedule the dragon fruit growing so as to ensure stable supply and stabilize the market.

source from: vietnamnet