While more and more consumers in Vietnam steer clear from industrially produced food, shifting to ‘homemade’ alternatives, out of fear for unwanted chemicals, health experts have warned that the latter also poses health risks, if bought from sources subject to no safety or hygiene regulations. Some stores claiming to offer only home-produced food turn out to mass-produce their products using industrial machines. A facility based in the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long famous for their banana preserves claim to be able to sell two metric tons of the sweet snack every year during Tet, or Lunar New Year. Despite marketing themselves as selling only homemade banana preserves, the establishment in reality operates no differently than a large-scale business, and even uses industrial machines to speed up the process. “If we do it by hand, one worker can only finish two batches of banana preserves a day at most,” said L., an employee at the establishment. “A machine can perform the task at four to five times the efficiency.” Bui Thi Thanh Tuyen, who resides in Dsitrict 10, Ho Chi Minh City, said she was a fan of homemade food due to her fear of consuming unwanted chemicals from industrially produced food. Tuyen has said she had just bought dozens of kilograms of food from homemade stores at between ten and 20 percent higher prices than they would have cost at regular outlets. However, she admitted not knowing whether the products were actually home-produced, relying on recommendations from friends and… [Read full story]
People line up to buy gio cha and banh chung at Quoc Huong shop on Hang Bong Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi on February 16, 2015. Photo: Cam Giang It's not a common sight: dozens of customers lined up in front of a shop in Hanoi to buy food, as if the city had returned to the pre-market economy era. For Quoc Huong Shop on Hang Bong Street, these are simply happy days. The shop, which started its business some 200 years ago, is famous for making sticky rice banh chung cakes and other holiday delicacies, using traditional recipes and…... [read more]
Electricity price hike will deal a big blow to the steel industry. File photo Industry is worried about both the upcoming power price hike and the knock-on effect it is likely to have on their other inputs. The government recently decided to increase electricity prices by 7.5 percent with effect from March 16 to VND1,622 (7.7 US cents) per kWh. Major consumers like steel, cement and pulp manufacturers are among those likely to be most affected by the hike. For instance, power accounts for some 7 percent of production costs for steel enterprises. Steel plants use 400-600 kWh for the…... [read more]
VietNamNet Bridge - A steel manufacturer invests in an animal feed production project, a real estate firm farms cows, a securities company produces rice, and a retailer grows vegetables. In early July 2015, rumors spread that Masan Consumer had taken over Ba Huan, a private enterprise providing poultry eggs in HCM City. Ba Huan later denied it. However, people had every reason to believe that Masan Consumer was eyeing Ba Huan. Masan has been conducting a series of merger & acquisition (M&A) deals over the last three years, targeting enterprises in agriculture. This is a part of its plan to…... [read more]
R20 battery production line in Hanoi (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam’s producer price index (PPI) in the first quarter of the year tapered off 0.73 percent from the previous quarter and 1.01 percent down against the same period last year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).The GSO attributed the slowdown of the industrial PPI to the curse of falling crude oil and iron ore prices.Alongside this, low demand for electricity consumption during winter also caused a slump in power prices, which led indusial production prices to drop in the quarter.During the three-month period ending in March, reduction in prices…... [read more]
Lipsmacking do-it-yourself mooncakes have made a hygienically ensured, love-packed gift among residents in Ho Chi Minh City as an alternative to their industrially produced counterparts, whose quality is often questionable. Booths selling mooncakes are normally seen in Ho Chi Minh City and other Vietnamese localities one to two months ahead of the Mid Autumn Festival, which falls Sunday. The festive delicacies are the round, baked pastries with such fillings as red beans, lotus seeds, chicken, Chinese sausages, and salted duck eggs. People celebrate the fest, considered a special occasion for family reunions, by getting together to relish mooncakes over fragrant…... [read more]
