Ben Tre festival promotes coconut industry

Hanoi (VNA) – The 5th Coconut Festival will be held in the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre from November 14-20, heard a press conference held by the provincial People’s Committee in Hanoi on July 31.

The 5th Coconut Festival aims to help Ben Tre province promote its advantage in exports of coconut products, and raise public awareness of the local coconut culture and potential of the local fruit.  (Photo: VNA)

According to Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Huu Lap, the festival aims to honour local coconut and coconut-based products while popularising the local staple among domestic and foreign tourists.

A wide range of activities are scheduled during the festival, including coconut cuisine festival, exhibition of coconut products, conference on coconut value chain, and a culture-art-tourism week which features a string of events like art performances, tour operation and folk games.

They are expected to help Ben Tre province promote its advantage in exports of coconut products, and raise public awareness of the local coconut culture and potential of the local fruit.

Besides, the festival will contribute to attracting investment for coconut value chain and tourism development, he added.

Ben Tre province accounts for half of the country’s coconut plantation land, and 80 percent of the Mekong Delta’s coconut cultivation areas. The locality earns average 200 million USD from coconut exports each year, 25 percent of which is contributed by with processed products.

The coconut industry has been a culture of the locality, which plays an important role in local socio-economic development