The “dinh” tea premium product of the Hoai Trung Tea Co. Ltd, based in Chi Tien commune of Thanh Ba district, the northern midland province of Phu Tho, has been rated five stars at the national level under the One Commune, One Product (OCOP) programme.

The Hoai Trung “dinh” tea premium product is the combination of three special varieties planted on the hills of Thanh Ba district and undergoing a special processing technique to create a unique taste.

Bui Thi Mao, Director of the Hoai Trung Tea Co. Ltd, said one kilogramme of dried “dinh” tea needs at least seven - eight kilogrammes of fresh buds to be made. After being picked, tea buds must be left to dry naturally for four - five hours before they are put into rubbing and drying machines for processing. Processed tea is evenly curled and as small as nails, called “dinh” in Vietnamese, hence its name “dinh” tea.

The product is made by using high Japanese technology and packaged into teabags, which is highly convenient for consumers, she noted, adding that the drink is as yellow as young glutinous rice flakes and releases a comfortable and elegant flavour with a lightly acrid and sweet taste left after consumed.

Wood processing and export businesses in the southern province of Binh Duong have been making every effort to overcome difficulties facing the industry.

Statistics showed that the province raked in 1.5 billion USD from exporting wood and wooden products in the first four months of 2023, down 38.5% year-on-year.

In the context that major export markets of Vietnam such as the US and Europe have large inventories, and purchasing power has decreased sharply, Vietnamese wood exporters have continued to face negative growth.

Recently, Truong Thanh Wood Industries JSC reported that its revenue and profit in the first quarter of 2023 reached 331 billion VND (over 14 million USD) and 1.8 billion VND respectively, down 38% and 90% compared to the same period last year.

Representatives of the Department of Planning and Investment of the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho and the Vietnam – Japan friendship association held a working session on May 23 to discuss ways to connect the city with Japanese partners and investors.

Vice director of the department Tran Phu Loc Thanh said there remains huge potential for Can Tho and Japanese businesses to set up and expand cooperation because the advantages of Can Tho city are suitable for the demand of the Japanese side.

Can Tho hopes that the association will serve as a bridge calling on Japanese investors to take part in important projects of the city in the future, Thanh said, affirming the locality’s commitment to accompany and coordinate with Japanese investors so that the two sides can achieve harmonised interests.

Tan Yen district in the northern province of Bac Giang, dubbed Vietnam's “Lychee Kingdom”, stands ready to export its lychee, with the crop ripening early on the vine this growing season.

The district expects to harvest about 17,000 tonnes of the fruit from 1,340 hectares this year, of which 1,170 hectares are hoped to provide nearly 15,000 tonnes of early ripening lychee.

To ensure the quality of early ripening lychee, Tan Yen has continued maintaining and expanding the cultivation area under VietGAP standards, and built a 10-ha production area under GlobalGAP standards.

Since early April, businesses and cooperatives came to Tan Yen to scope out its lychee farming. The locality expects to harvest roughly 9,000 tonnes of lychee for  the domestic market, and export some 8,000 tonnes, mainly to China, Japan, the US and the EU.

Hai Phong: Need of high quality workforce

A mere 11% of the nearly 200,000 workers at industrial and economic zones across Hai Phong have high professional and technical qualifications, hence the northern port city’s enormous demand for a high-quality workforce between now and 2025.

According to the Hai Phong Economic Zone Authority (HEZA), the local zones have so far lured 475 foreign-funded projects worth 23.5 billion USD. Le Trung Kien, head of HEZA, said from now to 2025, the city needs to attract approximately 10 billion USD worth of foreign direct investment (FDI). Every 1 billion USD requires about 10,000 workers, including 3,000 – 4,000 high-skilled ones, he clarified.

According to Kien, the northern industrial hub is calling for investment to the establishment of up to two research and innovation centres. The local workforce is set to focus on its three economic pillars of high-tech industry, seaports - logistics, and tourism - trade.

T.Huong

Source: Vitic/VNA