VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam last year led the world in cashew export sales for the second time, according to the Viet Nam Cashew Association (Vinacas).

VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has allowed farmers in the MekongRiver Delta to breed white shrimp if they can meet the requirements set by the ministry.

Coffee bean prices in the Central Highlands, Vietnam’s largest coffee growing area, have now rocketed to VND31,000-32,000/kg, the record figure so far. However, coffee growers are still bitter about the whole process.

VietNamNet Bridge – Thousands of garment workers are leaving industrial zones of major cities to return home to their villages for Tet. Many will not return.

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnamese exporters have signed contracts to export 700,000 tons of rice, mainly to the Philippines, Middle-East and South America, since early this year, reported the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development yesterday.

VietNamNet Bridge – Although the agricultural sector has had more opportunities to access the global market and increase farm produce exports, challenges remain one year after Vietnam entered the World Trade Organization, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Vietnamese rice has been exported to more than 70 countries and territories around the world including demanding markets such as the EU, the US and Japan. However, behind this impressive figure, the Vietnamese rice exporters are still beset by worries.

CPV: The 2008 Global Development Marketplace (DM 2008) competition was launched on January 22, offering 4 million USD in grant to social entrepreneurs with innovative ideas that have potential for high impact in promoting sustainable agriculture, titled “Sustainable agriculture for development”.

VietNamNet Bridge – A lot of textile and garment companies are planning to make investments in other business fields, when garment export contracts cannot bring them big profit as they did in the past.

VietNamNet Bridge – The art of Cham potters has worked like a charm for the Bau Truc trademark through all the vicissitudes of the market.

VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam will keep its top spot as the greatest pepper exporter in the world, according to Do Ha Nam, chairman of the Viet Nam Pepper Association.

VietNamNet Bridge – The European Commission (EC) has recognized 25 more Vietnamese seafood companies as meeting requirements to export products to the EU.

VietNamNet Bridge – While one third of revenue from Vietnam's time arts and handicraft exports are from markets in Japan, there is great potential to increase sales to Japan even further, said Deputy Minister of lndustry and Trade Le Danh Vinh.

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam’s cotton acreage has been reduced to 6,000ha and only produces 2,600 tonnes, meeting a little more than 1 percent of the garment sector’s demand. Experts say that without an effective solution, the cotton industry will disappear in the near future.