The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Foreign Affairs recently held a press conference to announce the upcoming International Ginseng, Flavoring, and Medicinal Materials Festival. This festival, organized by the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, is the first of its kind in the city and will focus on the ginseng, flavoring, and medicinal materials industry on an international scale.
The event will take place from May 24 to 26 on Le Loi Street, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. It will bring together representatives from various ministries and localities, as well as 60 domestic businesses and cooperatives specializing in ginseng, flavorings, and medicinal materials.
Additionally, participants from countries with strong backgrounds in these fields, such as Canada, the United States, South Korea, Japan, India, and several Southeast Asian nations, will also be in attendance.
Mr. Le Truong Duy, Director of the Foreign Service and International Conference Center (FSC), shared that the festival presents an opportunity to discover and experience a diverse range of high-quality ginseng, flavoring, and medicinal products. Beyond cultural activities, the festival aims to foster business connections and promote trade exchanges, strengthening the relationship between Vietnam, and Ho Chi Minh City in particular, with other nations.
At the press conference, Ms. Huynh Khanh Thuy Nguyen, Deputy Director of the Agricultural Consulting and Support Center, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Ho Chi Minh City, assured that her department would provide support for product connections and consumption during the festival.
In the exhibition area dedicated to Vietnamese ginseng, flavorings, and medicinal materials, the organizers will facilitate connections and promote businesses’ products to local and international tourists through engaging activities, including games with product samples as prizes.
Addressing the question of why Ho Chi Minh City was chosen as the host, despite not being a ginseng-growing region, Mr. Duy emphasized the significant potential of Vietnam’s ginseng industry and its positive contribution to the economy. He also highlighted the city’s position as a dynamic and promising market, home to numerous businesses operating in the ginseng sector.
While Vietnamese ginseng is currently exported to multiple countries, Mr. Duy acknowledged that the products lack a strong national brand identity in the international market. He expressed hopes that the festival would help address this issue and enhance the reputation of Vietnamese ginseng globally.
Vietnam has over 7,500 hectares of ginseng farms, mainly in the provinces of Quang Nam, Kon Tum, and Gia Lai…
According to the Vietnam Ginseng Development Program approved by the government in June 2023, by 2030, Vietnam aims to expand its ginseng farming area to approximately 21,000 hectares, with 100% of the area granted a cultivation code and geographical indication.
The program further targets a production volume of 300 tons of Vietnamese ginseng per year by 2030 (with a cultivation area of about 1,000 hectares per year), ensuring traceability and compliance with GACP-WHO standards (Good Agricultural and Collection Practice) or equivalent.
