Wood pellets, made from compressed sawdust and forestry wastes, have become a key currency earner of the wood industry, having the great potential to rank in the group of export staples with turnover of over 1 billion USD.

Vietnam’s wood pellet export value was just about 145 million USD in 2017 and surged to 413 million USD in 2021. 

Close to 2.4 million tonnes of the product were shipped overseas in the first half of 2022 for approximately 354 million USD. If the growth is maintained at the current rate, the export turnover may hit around 700 million USD for the entire year.

In particular, the product’s export price increased sharply between January and June to an average of nearly 150 USD per tonne, more than 27% higher than the average price in 2021.

The use of by-products to make the pellets helps wood factories raise incomes, offsetting the high price of imported raw materials. Currently, Vietnam houses about 300 pellet production facilities,which have solely exported to Japan and the Republic of Korea (RoK).

According to the Association of Vietnam Timber and Forest Product (Viforest), raw materials used in the production are those almost discarded during the processing of wood products. However, they can be turned into a cash cow business. 

Ministry envisages two scenarios for Viet Nam’s 2022 GDP growth

Viet Nam's GDP growth may reach 8 percent for 2022 in the best-case scenario, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Meanwhile, in another scenario, as the nation has to face unpredicted difficulties and obstacles, the economy may expand 7.5 percent for the whole year.

Viet Nam's GDP accelerated to 8.83 percent growth in the first nine months this year, the highest rate over the same period since 2021, the General Statistics Office reported last week.

The economy expanded 13.76 percent in the third quarter compared to 7.72 percent in the second quarter and 5.05 percent in the first quarter.

Survey: Around 60% of credit institutions count on high interest rates in last quarter

Up to 59-61 percent of credit institutions expect deposit and loan interest rates to continue to increase in the fourth quarter of 2022, specifically an increase of 0.37 percentage points on average.

The State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) has just announced some critical results of a survey on business trends of credit institutions and foreign bank branches in Viet Nam in the fourth quarter of 2022, and the response rate was 96 percent.

According to experts, the number of credit institutions expecting to increase interest rates will undoubtedly be higher than the 59-61 percent above. In fact, from the beginning of October until now, more banks have increased the deposit interest rate schedule.

Four state-owned commercial banks, including Vietcombank, VietinBank, BIDV and Agribank, officially participated in the race to increase deposit interest rates. Meanwhile, an interest rate of nearly 9 percent/year appeared on the market for the certificate of deposit products.

About 66-69 percent of credit institutions expect an average interest rate increase of 0.56-0.57 percentage points in 2022, whereas only 8-10 percent forecasted interest rates to decrease, the SBV's survey shows.

On that basis, credit institutions predicted that both marginal interest rates and service fees would grow slightly in the fourth quarter and the whole year.

According to credit institutions' assessment, customer demand for loans, payment services and cards and deposits in the third quarter of 2022 continued a sustainable recovery since the fourth quarter of 2021, in which the demand for loans improved the most.

Regarding pre-tax profit in 2022, 88.3 percent of credit institutions expected positive growth compared to 2021. Besides, 6.8 percent of credit institutions predicted negative profit growth in 2022, and 4.9 percent estimated their profit would remain unchanged.

ADB helps enhance sustainable transport for Ha Noi Metro Line 3

The ground breaking ceremony of a project on strengthening sustainable urban transport for Ha Noi Metro Line 3 (or Nhon-Ha Noi Railway Station metro line) project was held in Ha Noi on October 7.

The ground breaking ceremony of a project on strengthening sustainable urban transport for Ha Noi Metro Line 3 (or Nhon-Ha Noi Railway Station metro line) project takes place in Ha Noi, October 7, 2022

The project, jointly funded by Ha Noi People's Committee and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), aims to ensure smooth transport to approach the metro line, making sure that people use the metro line in a safe and convenient manner.

It will also support Ha Noi's climate change mitigation efforts in adopting a low-carbon transport growth path, which is more energy efficient and lowers greenhouse gas emissions.

Besides, the project will provide infrastructure for improving accessibility to Metro Line 3 stations, implement feeder bus links, a public transport management system, integrated multi-modal stations with "park and ride" facilities, as well as a comprehensive parking plan for the city.

It has the total investment capital worth US$54.75 million, including US$48.95 million from the ADB's Clean Technology Fund (CTF).

The project has three components spanning the six districts of Nam Tu Liem, Bac Tu Liem, Cau Giay, Ba Dinh, Dong Da and Hoan Kiem.

The Nhon-Ha Noi Railway Station metro line, the second route after Cat Linh-Ha Dong in the capital city, is slated to run 12.5 kilometers from Nhon in Nam Tu Liem District to the Ha Noi Railway Station in the downtown area.

It will include 8.5 kilometers on elevated tracks and four kilometers underground.

The project will be fully completed by 2027.

Official export of agricultural products by rail should be promoted

The General Department of Vietnam Customs and the Ministry of Finance proposed to quickly upgrade some railway stations into international transport stations and switch to officially exporting agricultural products by rail because of its quick and low-cost transportation.

The General Department of Vietnam Customs, on the afternoon of October 7, informed the press that, due to the prolonged influence of China’s zero-Covid policy, over the past few months, the volume of imported and exported goods through the Northern border gates between the two countries has continuously declined.

The volume of goods passing through customs clearance at border gates is in drops and totally depends on the announcements of the Chinese authorities, although trade facilitation measures and the establishment of green zones and buffer zones at border gates have been deployed by localities.

In the past two years, the Government, ministries, and agencies have strived to implement many solutions to facilitate trade and promote customs clearance of goods, especially agricultural products. Up to now, many agricultural products of Vietnam have switched to official export, but the implemented solutions have not really solved the difficulties.

Up to now, the General Department of Vietnam Customs has worked with the Vietnam Railways Administration and the Vietnam Railways and conducted surveys at Kep and Sen Ho train stations in Bac Giang Province, studying the possibility of arranging customs officers at these stations if they are upgraded to international train stations.

According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, electronic customs procedures have been implemented.  Facilities, equipment, and human resources have also been fully equipped to ensure customs clearance procedures for import and export goods through the railway border gates fast and conveniently. However, the transport capacity, cargo loading/unloading services, and infrastructure at train stations have not yet met the increasing trend of transporting import and export goods by rail.

HCMC moves long-haul bus routes to new station

All 79 inter-provincial routes, except those running through National Highway No.13 – Ho Chi Minh Road, will be moved from the old Mien Dong coach station in Binh Thanh District to the new station in Thu Duc City on October 11.

According to the HCMC Department of Transport, these 79 routes have nearly 1,700 vehicles, accounting for more than 50% of the total routes operating at the old Mien Dong coach station.

It is expected that the new station will have 100 long-haul operating routes to serve passengers on October 11. Previously, the station had 22 routes running from Quang Tri to the north of Vietnam.

The transportation entities shifted to the new station will not be allowed to pick up and drop off passengers at the old Mien Dong coach station in Binh Thanh District.

The Saigon Transportation Mechanical Corporation (Samco), the main investor of the station, and Mien Dong Station Co, ltd have been required to supervise their operations and ensure they comply with the regulations.

More ticket counters will be set up at the new station to meet the transport units’ requirements.

In the first six months of 2022, the bus station only serves an average of 47 passengers daily.

Lai Chau Airport may be invested in with PPP

The Ministry of Transport (MoT) has just sent an official dispatch to the prime minister and Lai Chau People's Committee on the investment in Lai Chau Airport, which is to be constructed under the public-private partnership (PPP) format.

In this dispatch, the MoT said that if the state budget capital for infrastructure investment is not enough, the ministry agrees to assign Lai Chau People's Committee to be the competent agency to study the plan of mobilising resources for building Lai Chau Airport under the PPP format.

After ensuring all the planning conditions, the provincial committee could actively work with relevant agencies to implement the next procedures and report to the competent authorities for permission to deploy the investment.

The prime minister will decide to approve Lai Chau People's Committee as the competent authority to implement Lai Chau Airport construction under the PPP format.

Vietnamese farm products gain foothold in major overseas markets

Several Vietnamese farm products are seizing upon opportunities to penetrate and gain a firm foothold in foreign markets, including demanding ones such as Japan, the EU, and the United States.

Vietnam earned more than US$40 billion from exporting agro-forestry and fishery products during the past nine months of the year, a rise of 15% compared to the same period from last year.

The reviewed period witnessed seven groups of products each rake in over US$2 billion from exports. In addition, a range of items recorded higher export value than the same period from last year, including Pangasius which rose by more than 83%, coffee up nearly 38%, and shrimp up nearly 25%.

Furthermore, Vietnamese agricultural products continued to achieve steady growth in four key markets - the US, China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea.be the prime time for businesses to increase exports. The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers forecasts that by the end of November, the country will be able to meet the US$10 billion export target as expected.

Support from a network of Vietnamese Trade Offices across 176 foreign markets will therefore be an important basis for the agricultural sector to fulfil its target.

HCM City potential for developing water transportation

HCM City is considering developing waterway traffic to ease congestion on roads.

Ngo Hai Duong, head of a unit in charge of managing road infrastructure under the HCM City Department of Transport said that the city's road traffic system has constantly faced congestion at the highest level.

"By the end of September this year, the percentage of land used for transportation in the city remained at just over 13.30 percent which is 10 percent less than the standard rate," Duong said. "There are now over 8.70 vehicles including 865,000 cars and over 7.80 two-wheeled vehicles. The number of vehicles has increased by 3.10 percent compared to the same period last year."

HCM City has 110 rivers and canals with a total length of nearly 1,000 kilometres. Local sea-ports and wharves are scattered in many areas, creating favourable conditions for developing a waterway transportation system.

According to the HCM City Department of Transport, in the first nine months of this year, the local waterway system transported a total of over 52.20 million tonnes of goods, 40 percent of the total transported by road. The total number of passengers using the waterway in the period reached over 22.60 million, an increase of 51.63 percent on-year.

Vice director of the HCM City Department of Transport, Bui Hoa An, said that the city had huge potential for developing water transportation.

Resolution 128 key to promote economic growth

The government’s Resolution No.128/NQ-CP on safe, flexible adaptation to and effective control of COVID-19 is considered a key to fostering economic growth thanks to flexible solutions.

On October 5, the Vietnam Government Portal organised the workshop on the one-year implementation of Resolution 128/NQ-CP, dated October 11, 2021, on safety, flexibility, and effective control of the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam.

Speaking at the workshop, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong mentioned the figures on GDP growth, which are published by the General Statistics Office of Vietnam (GSO) as proof of the success of enacting Resolution 128. According to GSO, in the first three quarters this year, Vietnam’s GDP growth was estimated to rise 8.83 per cent for the period, signifying the highest nine-month growth recorded in 2011-2022.

According to GSO, in the first three quarters this year, Vietnam’s GDP growth was estimated to rise 8.83 per cent for the period, signifying the highest nine-month growth recorded in 2011-2022.
He said that in the third quarter of 2021, the country’s GDP decreased by 6 per cent on-year due to travel restrictions put in place to prevent the pandemic's spread. However, since the resolution was adopted in October last year, the country's GDP in the four quarter of 2021 immediately achieved positive growth.

According to GSO, in the first three quarters this year, Vietnam’s GDP growth was estimated to rise 8.83 per cent for the period, signifying the highest nine-month growth recorded in 2011-2022. The percentage for the third quarter, in particular, was 13.67 per cent.

The strategy on vaccine coverage, which is a part of Resolution 128 also reported a positive result. The statistics published by the Ministry of showed that the COVID-19 fatality rate in Vietnam stands at only 0.02 per cent, as compared with the world average of 1.2 per cent, noting that vaccination is an important prevention measure. More than 260.23 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the country so far.

Dr. Angela Pratt, chief representative in Vietnam of the World Health Organization, said that Resolution 128 was an important milestone in Vietnam's response to the pandemic, signalling an important shift from containing the virus and suppressing transmission at all costs to balance COVID-19 restrictions with the need to open up the economy and society.

Vietnamese exports await offset from crucial public investment activities

Disbursement of public investment is expected to offset the decrease in exports, but the level of compensation depends greatly on the current progress of capital disbursement.

Short-term efforts last month to remove the main obstacles to constructing part of Hanoi’s second metro line, which focuses on the tunnel and underground stations, has not changed the disbursement results of the Hanoi Urban Railway Management Board.

The board is one of the units with large capital but a low disbursement rate in Hanoi. By the end of September, only 18.5 per cent of its planned capital had been disbursed.

The total investment capital of this project after adjustment was around $1.17 million, of which, official development assistance loans are nearly $960 million and domestic about $218 million.

Vietnam’s capital is competing with all other localities in attempting to speed up disbursement progress of public capital in the last months of the year.

According to the Ministry of Finance, in 2022 the total public investment capital will be about $24.3 billion, about $4.2 billion larger than in 2021. By the end of September, the disbursement of public investment will increase, reaching over $10.6 billion. However, the new rate reached merely 46.7 per cent of the plan assigned by the prime minister, 0.7 per cent lower than in the same period 2021.

Self-driving car publicly tested in Binh Duong

After an initial period of testing, a self-driving car has been tested on public roads in southern Binh Duong Province.

The project is being implemented by the Becamex Tokyu Company in cooperation with Phenikaa-X and Nippon Koei Vietnam.

The collaboration, known as Phenikaa-X Vietnam Group, has researched, developed and perfected the first level 4 autonomous vehicle in Viet Nam on the 5-level scale for self-driving cars of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). The car was officially launched on March 26, 2021, after a period of testing at Phenikaa University, Ha Noi.

Self-driving cars have a very high level of safety because of the super-sensitive sensor system. With outstanding intelligent features such as a cruise monitoring system, lane control system, collision warning and speed adjustment, the Phenikaa-X self-propelled vehicle makes is a step towards the goal of smart city development with smart traffic solutions. 

Import-export expanding via surplus

A large 9-month trade surplus has reflected an expansion of both exports and imports, with involved products mostly being for industrial development.

According to the General Statistics Office (GSO), it is estimated that Vietnam raked in a trade surplus of $6.52 billion in the first nine months of this year.

Total export turnover is estimated to have hit $282.52 billion, up 17.3 per cent on-year, of which $262 billion is for industrial products – accounting for 92.7 per cent of Vietnam’s total export turnover.

Industrial items with big export rates include garments, textiles, and footwear (20.7 per cent); computers, electronics, and spare parts (15.9 per cent); mobile phones and spare parts (17.4 per cent); machinery and equipment (13.1 per cent); fossil coal (106.8 per cent), crude oil (40.2 per cent), fertiliser (170.4 per cent), and chemicals (44.2 per cent).

Samsung is estimated to create more than 90 per cent of Vietnam’s total export values of electronics and mobile phones. So far this year, the country’s total export of mobile phones and spare parts hit $45.4 billion, up 10.7 per cent as compared to the same period last year.

Meanwhile, according to the GSO, in the first nine months of this year, Vietnam’s total import turnover sat at an estimated $276 billion, up 13 per cent on-year.

Of which, $260.4 billion was for importing items for industrial production – accounting for 94.3 per cent in the economy’s total import value. Such items with major import value increases included machinery and equipment (13.4 per cent), mobile phones and spare parts (6.1 per cent), electronics and spare parts (24.9 per cent), and crude oil (68.1 per cent).

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) estimated that Vietnam’s total export and import turnover for the whole of 2022 may be about $368 billion and $367 billion – both up nearly 9.5 per cent over 2021. This is expected to create a $1 billion trade surplus.

All are thanks to consumers’ high spending, and tax reduction and removal under free trade agreements’ commitments.

By late last year, forecasting that the global market will see negative fluctuations in goods demand, the National Assembly set a target for Vietnam’s export-import turnover for 2022 to be $660.8 billion, including $329.9 billion for exports and $330.9 billion for imports. This means a $1 billion trade deficit.

This target is lower than what was reaped last year, in which the export-import turnover hit $668.5 billion, with a trade surplus of $4.08 billion.

The MoIT has also set a 2023 target of an on-year export turnover increase of 8 per cent, or $397.4 billion, with a trade surplus reached, and a total retail and consumption service revenue of as much as $268.6 billion, up 9 per cent on-year.

However, the MoIT also underlined major headwinds against Vietnam’s trade landscape.

Indian-based financiers eager to pour further investment into the country

Prominent Indian investors are eager to pump money into Vietnam in sectors such as IT, energy, healthcare, and car components, as shown in a recent round of senior business meetings.

Over the last two months, Indian investors have organised events and field surveys across the country to look for opportunities.

The Confederation of Indian Industries led a delegation of 15 leading companies to Vietnam on September 25-28 to participate in the India-Vietnam Business Forums held in the southern province of Binh Duong and Hanoi.

Indian investors are looking for local partners to enhance bilateral cooperation in various sectors, such as energy, electric vehicles, IT, petrochemicals, healthcare, water treatment, food and beverages, fertilisers, and food processing.

In late August, 25 automotive component manufacturers from India arrived in Vietnam to look for funding opportunities. The manufacturers are all members of the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA), which has over 800 members and accounts for 85 per cent of component production revenue in India.

Yuvraj Kapuria, chairman of the ACMA Young Business Leaders’ Forum (YBLF), said, “Vietnam attracts many of the world’s leading groups in the automotive industry, including original equipment manufacturing facilities and tier-1 solar panel factories. The ACMA wants to cooperate with domestic automotive manufacturing vendors to exploit this potential. We accept all investment methods, including direct investment.”

These businesses will work with authorities, ministries, and associations in the automotive sector and meet first-tier vendors in Vietnam.

The business community of the two countries has much room for cooperation. The Vietnam-India relationship has been upgraded from a bilateral relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership, and the countries are also implementing a 2021-2023 action programme, which aims to implement various agreements and discussions from official meetings.

Statistics from the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Foreign Investment Agency showed that Indian investors poured money into 340 projects with the total investment capital of about $1 billion as of September 20. Calculating the capital placed through a third country, the figure is estimated at $1.9 billion.

This capital inflow is expected to make breakthroughs thanks to more billion-dollar projects in the pipeline. Adani Group will cooperate with Anh Phat Investment Construction and Trading JSC to develop Lien Chieu Port, among the group’s proposed investment projects in Vietnam with an expected value of $10 billion.

The port infrastructure will combine a harbour area, container yard, warehouse complex, piers, waterways, and a transport system. The project is expected to handle ships with a capacity of 100,000DWT and container ships of up to 8,000TEU, while the total cargo going through these harbours would be 3.5-5 million tonnes annually. Danang People’s Committee is letting investors look at the details of the projects.

Additionally, SMS Pharmaceuticals and Vietnam’s Dai An Group have plans to build a billion-dollar pharmaceutical park in the northern province of Hai Duong.

Developers eager to cultivate funding in industrial real estate

As industrial real estate is considered an attractive investment channel, several enterprises are beginning to focus more funding on the sector.

Vietnam Rubber Group (VRG) is completing its restructuring scheme for 2021-2025 to submit to the Committee for Management of State Capital at Enterprises. One of the highlights is that industrial real estate will be one of three core business sectors, and the company will foster divestment from the rubber sector to mobilise resources for the industrial real estate sector.

VRG general director Le Thanh Hung said that by 2025, the group’s revenue is expected to increase by 30 per cent, and profit will increase by 25 per cent. The group’s consolidated revenue is expected to climb to VND161 trillion ($7 billion), and consolidated pre-tax profit will be $1.49 billion. The after-tax profit of the parent company will be $536.9 million.

Currently, VRG manages nearly 492,000 hectares of rubber plantations, 342,000ha of which are in Vietnam, with the majority in the Southeast region and Central Highlands.

According to the industrial real estate development strategy for 2021-2030, VRG plans to develop 48 industrial parks (IPs) with a total area of 37,400ha and 28 industrial clusters with a total area of 1,800ha, which will be mobilised from converted rubber plantation areas.

VRG is managing 12 IPs with a total area of 6,000 hectares, of which it has filled over 4,000ha of the subleasing land and warehouse. New projects such as the expansion of Nam Tan Uyen IP, An Dien, and Minh Hung III are in the process of implementing legal procedures for investment.

Leaders of Binh Phuoc People’s Committee will support the group in the conversion. At a meeting in late August, Vice Chairman Huynh Anh Minh asked departments to conduct detailed surveys on the areas to be converted. The province will prioritise IP and high-tech agricultural projects funded by VRG and its members.

Matthew Powell, director of Savills Hanoi said, “Vietnam is still the leading investment destination for investors. Meanwhile, China still maintains a strict pandemic policy, which has shifted international business to other countries in Southeast Asia, especially Vietnam.”

Foreign capital inflows are still pouring into the country while existing IPs and economic zones have an average of 70.9 per cent fulfilment. In Hanoi, Bac Ninh, and Bac Giang, the fulfilment ratio is up to 96 per cent, which shows the urgent need for new IPs and economic zones.

Several hurdles remain and VRG, for example, may not find it easy to convert rubber plantation areas to industrial land. Despite grand ambitions, the reality of converting land is not easy.

According to MB Securities, the area that VRG wants to convert must come under the locality’s socioeconomic plan, and the group also needs the approval of the Vietnamese prime minister.

Nearly 170 behind-schedule projects canceled

A representative of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Ho Chi Minh City, on October 4, reported to the Urban Board of the People's Council of HCMC that the department had coordinated with districts to submit to the municipal People's Committee to cancel 169 projects which have not been carried out yet after more than three years of registration of the land-use plans.

The reason for the delay in implementing the land-use plans is mainly due to the dependence on the balance and arrangement of the budget and financial sources of investors to compensate and conduct the projects; compensation still faces many difficulties in terms of plans and prices; investors are still confused in completing documents to be assigned to change the land-use purpose; there are problems with legal procedures due to changes in investment regulations.

21 projects with rice land proposed to change land-use purpose to residential land

In related news, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of HCMC has recently submitted to the People's Council of HCMC a list of 21 projects that propose to change the land-use purpose from rice land to residential land to implement housing projects.

Specifically, they include the social housing project in Long Phuoc Ward of Green City Development Joint Stock Company with 8.08ha, and the high-rise apartment complex combining commercial services and offices in Truong Tho Ward of Dat Phuong Nam Real Estate Business Construction Investment Joint Stock Company with 0.39ha in Thu Duc City; An Hung residential area in Nhon Duc Commune of An Hung Investment Trading Service Joint Stock Company with 8.05ha, and the high-rise apartment building, commercial, services, and offices in Phuoc Kien Commune of Saigon Nam Phu Real Estate Joint Stock Company with 0.93ha in Nha Be District; the high-rise apartment project in Phu Thuan Ward of Vien Dong Land Investment Joint Stock Company with 0.86ha, and the high-rise apartment building project in Phu Thuan Ward of Song Hong Land House Real Estate Joint Stock Company with 1.77ha in District 7.

Quang Ninh to further facilitate operation of int’l container shipping firms

To attract international container shipping companies, the Maritime Administration of Quang Ninh has held that administrative procedure reforms should be stepped up to further facilitate their operation in this northern province.

Last September, the first vessels of MAERSK and SITC arrived at Cai Lan International Container Terminal. Previously, the two major international shipping firms had operated some trips to this terminal to handle cargo on a trial basis.

Cai Lan, a deep-water terminal with modern infrastructure, is also connected with many industrial parks that have high import demand through new expressways.

MAERSK is expected to operate one trip per week to Cai Lan on the route from Hong Kong to Cai Lan, Tan Vu (Hai Phong city), Yantian, Nighbo, Shanghai and then Hong Kong (China).

Cai Lan is also a destination on the SITC route from Cat Lai (Ho Chi Minh City) to Jakarta (Indonesia), Bintulu (Malaysia), Xiamen (China), Incheon (the Republic of Korea), Tianjin, Qingdao, Shanghai (China), and then Cai Lan.

The two firms operated 12 cargo trips with a total volume of 7,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit) to the terminal in Quang Ninh in September. The goods were mainly dry commodities, machinery, and materials.

Can Tho expects to export first batch of durians to China next year

The Mekong Delta city of Can Tho expects to export the first batch of durians to China next year.

To prepare for the shipment, the municipal Sub-department for Plant Production and Protection on October 5 guided cooperatives and cooperative groups in Phong Dien district to register for planting area codes, meeting requirements for exports to China through the official channel.

There have been no cooperatives, businesses and individuals in Can Tho granted with the codes so far. The sub-department has received six registration dossiers.

Can Tho is home to 2,500 hectares of durians, mainly in Phong Dien district with 2,150 hectares which provides about 14,200 tonnes of durians for the market each year.

China is still the largest importer of Vietnamese durians, but this fruit is mainly exported to China via border gates.

Source: VNA/SGT/VNS/VOV/Dtinews/SGGP/VGP/Hanoitimes