The Chairman of the district, Ho Quang Buu, said that the MoU was aimed at boosting future development and expanding the market for the Ngoc Linh ginseng (Panax vietnamensis or Vietnamese ginseng) in the mountainous district.

He said Hamyang County, which is located in the South Gyeongsang Province of South Korea, is famous for being the home of Korean ginseng, and will help locals process Vietnamese ginseng into various products, including pharmaceutical materials, cosmetics and function food.

"Currently, Panax vietnamensis costs around VND40 million (US$1,900) per kilogram, but poor investment in processing technology only has locals producing pharmaceutical material and energy drinks," Buu said.

He said cosmetic production stemming from ginseng could bring greater value than growing local ginseng.

The chairman said the district would also promote its ginseng products at the Ginseng Festival hosted by the Hamyang County this July.

The district, with a 70-ha natural ginseng farm, is yet to escape from poverty as 62 per cent of the 20,000-strong population are still living in poor conditions.

Vietnamese ginseng has been preserved as a precious and endangered flora gene in the province, along with poor man's ginseng or condonopsis, pepper, cinnamon, large-size rattan and corn. 

VNS