Industry leaders have called on distraught and anxious pepper farmers to remain calm and refrain from selling their produce at low prices, saying the current price plunge is most likely a fleeting phenomenon.

In the first four months of the year, the trade deficit was at quite high at around US$2.8 billion.

Lai Ly Huynh lost his only match in the National Chinese Chess Team Championships’ blitz event, but it did not stop him from retaining the men’s title on May 28 in Danang City.

Hosts HCM City topped the table in the National Muay Thai Championships, which concluded on May 27.

Ly Hoang Nam failed to progress in the Singapore F1 Men’s Futures in both the singles and doubles events.

The Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency held a workshop in the capital on May 25 on trade promotion to the Middle East and Africa, which followed a conference on South American trade promotion on May 24.

A forum on “Vietnam’s consumer trend in 2017” was held in Hanoi on May 25 to discuss changes in consumption habits and how to promote the sustainable development of consumer goods in Vietnam.

To achieve sustainable development, Vietnam’s agriculture sector needs to improve productivity and quality as well as define the market structure for each farming product, experts said at the Vietnam agricultural outlook conference on May 24 in Hanoi.

The banking system is expected to further develop this year, as 16 banks have announced plans to increase capital by a total of nearly VND37 trillion (US$1.62 billion).

Vietnamese players have been asked to play with all their energy and spirit against France in the second round match of the FIFA U20 World Cup on May 25 in the Republic of Korea.