VietNamNet Bridge - Communications is a double-edge knife. Information can help businesses polish their images in public’s eyes, but can also hinder their development.

 

In 2015, Vietnamese mass media reported that farmers and small merchants in the eastern part of the southern region and Dak Lak province used Ethephon to accelerate the ripening of fruits such as bananas, jackfruit, papaya and durian. 

Local newspapers wrote that the substance was mostly used to stimulate rubber trees for latex and was toxic to humans.

Consumers kept away from the fruits.

Communications is a double-edge knife. Information can help businesses polish their images in public’s eyes, but can also hinder their development.

Only in late 2015 did scientists vindicate farmers by stating that Ethephon is safe to humans. 

They said at an official conference that Ethephon is recognized all over the world as a potent regulator of plant growth and ripeness. The substances harmful to people are pesticides, plant protection chemicals and inorganic chemical fertilizer.

They affirmed that Ethephon, if used at permitted rate to accelerate the ripening of fruits, is completely harmless to consumers’ health and it won’t affect the fruit quality. 

Upon metabolism by the plant, it is converted into ethylene, a plant hormone which plays a decisive role in the fruit ripening. The substance can be easily removed when washed with water.

Nguyen Lam Vien, general director of Vinamit, known for its dried fruit products, said that Vietnam’s export of farm produce, which had developed strongly in the last few years, suffered from false information.

As mass media repeatedly reported about the ‘toxic substance’ in 2015, consumers in North America, Asia and China became hesitant to buy the products from Vietnam.

Foreign importers, after hearing the information, decided to tighten the control over the imports from Vietnam. 

They had Vietnamese products examined and when discovering problems in some products, they decided to put Vietnamese products in the group of products that need residue tests like Chinese products. This led to a sharp fall of Vietnamese farm produce exports.

Also according to Vien, sweet potatoes and taro were the biggest victims of misleading reports.

Taro price, which was sold at VND20,000-30,000 per kilo, suddenly plunged to VND4,000 per kilo, while sweet potatoes dropped to VND1,000 per kilo.

After the false information was spread, Vietnamese enterprises found it hard to export products for good prices directly to destination countries. 

As a result, they decided to export products via Taiwan and Thailand so as to obtain certificates of origins from the countries’ authorities.

“The importers whom I met at the trade fair in Chicago in the US in November 2015 advised me to sell products through intermediate countries. If I do this, consumers will feel more secure about the products,” Vien said.


DNSG