Ben Tre: Vietnam’s coconut kingdom
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Coconut products are introduced at the press conference in Hanoi on July 31. — VNS Photo Minh Thu

With the theme ‘Coconuts on the Way to Integration and Sustainable Development’, the festival honours coconut trees and their products, the growers and those who work in the sector.

The festival was organised successfully for the first time in 2009 and has been expanded in scale and quality after four editions, Nguyen Huu Lap, vice chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said at a press conference on July 31.

This year, it will feature exhibitions on coconut products and trade fairs, along with a wide range of southern delicacies starring coconut as the main ingredient. Workshops focusing on brand building for Ben Tre coconut will also be arranged within the framework of the event.

A key event is the Culture and Tourism Week highlighting Ben Tre as a cradle of coconuts. The activities include a fashion show of coconut costumes, coconut parade and trips to discover Ben Tre Province.

“The festival aims to promote coconut products of the province to domestic and foreign visitors, create an opportunity to exchange between farmers and enterprises at home and abroad, and lift the position and value of Vietnamese coconut sector in the world market,” said Lap.

“Growers will have a chance to share experience in coconut cultivation, processing, and consumption. It is hoped to encourage farmers to apply modern technology in cultivation to improve productivity and quality, thus expanding markets and boosting exports.”

Ben Tre Province is home to 163,000 households involved in farming 71,000ha of coconut trees – half of the country’s coconut-growing land. They produce 800 million coconut fruits and ship about US$200 million worth of coconut products abroad annually. Vietnamese coconut products are exported to about 84 countries and territories worldwide.

VNS