October

Overview: The grapes of Ninh Thuan province are the produce of Vietnam's only commercial grape-growing region and are known as a Vietnamese specialty. Annual production is about 30,000 tonnes, and both table grapes (for fresh eating) and wine grapes are produced. Grape cultivation in a tropical region is rare worldwide...

Overview: Cassava is an important industrial raw-material crop in Vietnam, with annual production of about 11 million tonnes. It is used as a raw material for tapioca starch, bioethanol, and animal feed. Vietnam is the world's sixth-largest cassava producer and ranks second in the world (after Thailand) in tapioca-starch exports...

Overview: Macadamia is a relatively new crop in Vietnam, where full-scale cultivation began in the 2000s, and the cultivated area has reached about 20,000 hectares. Annual production is about 10,000 tonnes (in shell), and this Australia-native nut suits the climate of Vietnam's Central Highlands...

Overview: Passion fruit is a fruit whose cultivated area is expanding rapidly in Vietnam's Central Highlands, with annual production of about 200,000 tonnes. Called "chanh day" in Vietnamese, it is characterized by strong acidity and a distinctive aroma. Demand as a juice raw material is rising both at home and abroad...

Overview: Pomelo is a citrus fruit that has long been grown in Vietnam, with an annual output of about 800,000 tonnes. Called 'buoi', it is an indispensable auspicious fruit at the Lunar New Year (Tet). There are many local varieties, such as Nam Roi, Da Xanh, and Dien...

Overview: Vietnam's cacao industry is relatively new, with full-scale cultivation beginning in the 2000s. Annual output is small, at about 3,000 to 5,000 tonnes of cacao beans, but it is internationally recognized as high-quality fine-flavor cacao. The 'bean-to-bar' chocolate boom has...

Overview: Vietnam is the world's seventh-largest tea producer, with annual production of about 180,000 tonnes of dried tea leaves. A variety of teas are produced—green tea, black tea, oolong, and lotus-flower tea—across a cultivated area of about 130,000 hectares. The history of Vietnamese tea goes back more than 1,000 years, and the northern mountain areas in particular have centuries-old tea...

Overview: Star anise is a specialty of northern Vietnam, which is the world's second-largest producer after China. Annual production is about 20,000–30,000 tonnes, and it is characterized by the strong, sweet aroma from its distinctive star-shaped fruit. Besides being a culinary spice, it is a source of shikimic acid, the raw material for the influenza drug Tamiflu...

Overview: Vietnam is the world's third-largest producer of cinnamon (cassia), with an annual output of about 40,000 tonnes of bark and about 20,000 tonnes of essential oil. Vietnamese cinnamon is known for its strong aroma and high essential-oil content, and is used worldwide as a raw material for spices, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. The cultivation area is about 1...

Overview: Vietnam is the world's largest producer of dragon fruit, with an annual output reaching about 1.4 million tonnes. Dragon fruit (pitaya) is a fruit of the cactus family, and both white-fleshed and red-fleshed varieties are grown. In Vietnam it is called 'thanh long', and mainly in the southern region there is about 60,000 hectares of...