Dragon fruit gains access to Chile, Korea markets

Chile and South Korea have officially opened up their markets to Vietnamese dragon fruit.

President of the Binh Thuan Dragon Fruit Association Bui Dang Hung on Thursday said only radiated or heat-treated dragon fruit was acceptable for export to the two markets.

Also, dragon fruit farms had to be checked and granted licenses by the two countries’ plant protection departments under the ministries of agriculture if they wanted to export their products, he said.

Currently, businesses in the southern province of Binh Thuan are engaging in the process of receiving licenses from Chile and the South Korea, Hung added.

Early this month, out-of-season dragon fruits in Binh Thuan Province have been shipped to China at a high price of VND8,000 per kilogram.

A seminar is scheduled to take place in the northern province of Lang Son to help Chinese and Vietnamese businesses deal with difficulties when exporting dragon fruits to China in small volumes.

Binh Thuan has 12,300 hectares of dragon fruit trees, of which 2,100 hectares have been grown under VietGAP standards. The province’s main export market is Asian nations, especially China, with 70 percent of market share, followed by the US and European countries.

Related Articles

• Fruit industry upgrade urged
• Market moves up sharply
• Blue seas and unspoiled beaches
• Weak oversight leads to violations in essential sectors
• Writers’ temple to display bronze drums

Dragon fruit gains access to Chile, RoK markets

Chile and the Republic of Korea (RoK) have officially opened up their markets to Vietnamese dragon fruit.

President of the Binh Thuan Dragon Fruit Association Bui Dang Hung on
October 5 said only radiated or heat-treated dragon fruit was acceptable
for export to the two markets.

Also, dragon fruit
farms had to be checked and granted licences by the two countries’ plant
protection departments under the ministries of agriculture if they
wanted to export their products, he said.

Currently, businesses in the southern province of Binh Thuan are
engaging in the process of receiving licences from Chile and the RoK,
Hung added.

Early this month, out-of-season dragon
fruits in Binh Thuan province have been shipped to China at a high price
of 8,000 VND per kg.

A seminar is scheduled to
take place in the northern province of Lang Son to help Chinese and
Vietnamese businesses deal with difficulties when exporting dragon
fruits to China in small volumes.

Binh Thuan has
12,300 ha of dragon fruit trees, of which 2,100 ha have been grown under
VietGAP standards. The province’s main export market is Asian nations,
especially China, with 70 percent of market share, followed by the US
and European countries./.

Related Articles

• Supermarkets report strong earnings in Big Sale month
• Market moves up sharply
• Blue seas and unspoiled beaches
• Writers’ temple to display bronze drums
• Greenback firmer on signs of rising demand

Ministry completes draft decision on wind-power prices

Two men work on a power line in HCMC in a file photo. Wind power is now supplied to the national grid but regulations on wind power selling prices are not yet out - Photo: TL

HCMC – The Ministry of Industry and Trade has finished a draft decision on selling prices of wind power, which an official said is expected to create a much-needed framework for developing wind power in the country.  

Le Tan Phong, deputy director of the ministry’s Department of Energy, told the Daily on Tuesday that the decision would likely be submitted to the Government within this week for final approval.

He declined to elaborate on the draft decision, but another official said the selling price would likely be raised to 8 U.S. cents a kWh compared to the current 5.5 cents. That will be a strong boon for investors engaging in wind-power projects, said Ho Son Hung, deputy director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Binh Thuan Province, where several wind-power projects are being planned.

Hung said that according to the latest suggestions by the province for the drafted decision, “the selling price of wind power could be set at about 8 U.S cents per kilowatt hour, with a subsidy from the State.

“This price would be encouraging enough for investors to spend their money to develop more wind power projects in the coming time.”

He also noted that many wind power investors have grown impatient in recent years due to the absence of a concrete decision on the selling price of the wind power.

By this time, Binh Thuan authorities have approved a total of 12 projects of wind power development. One such project located in Binh Thuan’s Tuy Phong District has lately generated power to the national grid, although the selling price has not been settled between the investor and Electricity of Vietnam Group, or EVN.

Tran Viet Ngai, chairman of the Vietnam Energy Association told the Daily early this week that the Government should have more preferential policies for the development of wind and solar power. Particularly, investors of renewable energy have repeatedly asked for higher selling prices of power generated from wind and solar sources.

Referring to the above-mentioned wind power project in Binh Thuan, Ngai said, the 7.5MW plant was already supplying power to the national grid, the wide gap remained between the developer and EVN.

“That is because the investor wanted to sell power at 11 U.S. cents per kWh while EVN wanted it to be only 5.5 cents,” said the chairman of the association.

Experts said the country has huge potential to develop as much as 5,000MW of wind power.

Related Articles

• High rice price cuts exports
• ASEAN parliamentarians tackle broad agenda
• Mini-condos attract investor attention
• Energy group asks for 50% price hike
• Market moves up sharply

Wind power, titanium projects on direct collision course

Wind power in Binh Thuan holds big potential development, but projects in this sector are on a direct collision course with titanium ones - Photo: Khai Nguyen

HCMC, BINH THUAN – Several projects in both wind power and titanium mining sectors in the central province of Binh Thuan have been put on hold as most of the land reserved for wind power overlaps the sites for titanium mining, a provincial official said.

Ho Son Hung, deputy director of the province’s Department of Industry and Trade, told the Daily on Thursday that the provincial government had to date licensed a total of 12 wind power projects covering some 14,000 hectares.

“However, nearly 12,000 hectares of land for the wind power projects is overlapping areas of titanium exploitation with total reserves of some 500 million tons,” he said after a meeting on wind power on Thursday in Binh Thuan.

The twelve licensed wind power projects are Binh Thuan Wind Power 1, Tien Thanh, Phuoc The, Saigon-Binh Thuan, Mien Dong, Thuan Nhien Phong, Binh Thuan, Phu Lac, Van Thanh, HD, WPD, and Vinh Hao.

“This has been an awkward situation for years. We have asked the Government to give a final decision on which areas to be allowed for tapping titanium now and which titanium areas are to be reserved for next generations so that we could continue licensing wind power projects in the coming time,” he said.

“The province will hopefully receive a final decision from the Government in November this year,” he said.

Because of the overlapping situation, the province has decided to stop giving more investment licenses for wind power projects while pending a clearer plan for exploiting titanium reserves.

Hung said he had just heard that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment had completed a scheme pinpointing locations of titanium around the province. Binh Thuan is expecting to have the scheme soon.

In recent years, Binh Thuan Province has been known as an attractive place for investors of both titanium projects and wind power projects. The province is said to have total wind power potentiality of some 3,000 MW to be developed between 2010 and 2020 on a total area of some 75,500 hectares, while titanium reserves in the locality are estimated at half a billion tons.

The province on Thursday organized a seminar on wind power development with the participation of many domestic and international energy experts.

Many experts agreed that Binh Thuan’s wind power potentiality will be effectively tapped if the power generated from wind is sold at a better price to ensure profits for investors.

Related Articles

• Infrastructure projects need climate change upgrade
• Golf courses probed for environmental effects
• State enterprises to focus on major business fields
• Developers unhappy over new fees
• Highrise building ban casts pall over apartment market

Mining could kill Binh Thuan's tourism

Tourists hang out on Mui Ne beach in Binh Thuan Province. The province's tourism industry has been seriously affected by titanium-exploitation projects. — VNA/VNS Photo Anh Tuan

BINH THUAN — More than 410 tourism projects in central Binh Thuan Province have been seriously affected by titanium-exploitation projects, which are polluting coastal areas.

According to the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Bac Binh District's Hoa Thang Commune is one of several locations where titanium exploitation has damaged tourism projects.

At contiguous areas near Hon Rom – Mui Ne, about 13 enterprises have complained about the waste that is left on beaches by titantium exploiters.

The companies that dig for titanium use sea water to filter the titanium from the sand. But because the sea waters in the area are so calm, the waste is left on shore, driving away tourists.

The pollution is also affecting the attractive Nghe Islet, according to a representative of a tourism company in the province.

In addition, titanium exploiters including Hai Tinh and Tan Quang Cuong companies are working along the coastline of Ham Tan – La Gi, considered a beautiful area attrative to tourists.

Air and water pollution has robbed the area of its beauty, investors have said.

Many tourism investors have withdrawn their projects, even though they have received licenses.

Tran Thi Mai Anh, investor of Tien Phu Tourism Project, complained that the province had focused on tourism as a key economic sector but had granted licenses to many titanium-exploitation projects.

Anh said that her VND20 billion project had to be suspended because her partner had withdrawn its funds. She now wants to sell the project to pay the bank debt.

About 140 of 410 licensed tourism projects are operating in Binh Thuan Province.

Huynh Giac, head of the province's Department of Natural Resource and Environment, told Dau Tu newspaper there were 63 tourism projects built in an area of titanium exploration that is part of a larger mineral exploitation plan developed by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

Nguyen Hong Son, deputy head of the Binh Thuan Tourism Association and owner of Doi Su Resort, said the association had often urged the province not to authorise mineral exploitation near tourism areas, but to no avail.

Nguyen Van Dung, deputy head of the province's People's Committee, said in October the scheme for titanium exploitation in the province would be completed.

Under the plan, the province would allow tourism projects in areas that have low titanium reserves, and ban mineral exploitation.

For areas rich with titanium, the province will not allow investment or long-term construction in tourism projects.

The province has also asked companies that are exploiting titanium to keep a safe distance from tourism projects and commit to environmental preservation.

Titanium has been exploited in the province for several years, with 2007 being the most active year. Revenue was reported at VND600 million that year, and all of the raw material was exported to China.

"Binh Thuan sees tourism as the key economic sector. So we are trying to reconcile the benefits received by both the tourism and mineral industries," said Nguyen Van Thu, deputy head of Binh Thuan Province People's Committee — VNS

Related Articles

• Ford rewards employee’s technician skills in contest
• Vietnamese tourist killed in Australian bus accident
• HCMC to relay grand sale program to November
• Hanoi foreign arrivals up 12 pct
• Preparations for congress reviewed