A delegation of businesses from the northern central US state of Minnesota will visit Vietnam from May 7-15 to seek trade opportunities and partners in Vietnam.

The export value of cashew nuts is expected to hit US$1 billion this year - US$150 million higher than last year - according to the Vietnam Cashew Association.

The US Department of Commerce (DOC) has announced that the average anti-dumping tariff applied to shrimp products exported by 29 Vietnamese companies will decrease from 4.57 percent to 2.89 percent.

Japanese experts praised the management and control of seafood safety and hygiene at Vietnam’s processing factories, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) has said.

The Foreign Trade Department of Turkey has announced an extension of safeguard measures on three categories of Vietnamese shoes to be imported in the next three years.

The Hanoi Trade Corporation (Hapro) has worked hard to exploit Mexico, Kenya, Uruguay, Brazil and Spain to raise the number of its export markets to 60 countries and territories worldwide.

PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services Joint Stock Corp. (PVD) signed a cooperation contract with the US-based Baker Hughes in Hanoi on March 16 to set up a joint venture in Vietnam.

Some high-profile financial and technological foreign groups working in the oil and gas industry officially joined a private oil and gas consortium (SAONAM PETRO), the first of its kind in Vietnam, in Hanoi on March 16.

The Global Forest & Trade Network in Vietnam (GFTN-Vietnam) has admitted a new member, Adis Pte Ltd., a retailer in wooden furniture headquartered in Singapore and operating in Ho Chi Minh City.

Representatives of more than 60 businesses have shown their keen interest in the Vietnamese market during a recent conference in the Netherlands.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has agreed with the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s proposal to organise a mid-year consultative group for Vietnam in Rach Gia city, Kien Giang province, on June 10-11.

The Central Highland province of Lam Dong will launch a project to develop 15-20 joint establishments in agricultural production between farmers and enterprises and will provide 5,000 farmers with training on new cultivation methods in the 2010-2015 period.

Most of the German companies in Vietnam are satisfied with their business as well as the favourable investment environment and opportunities in the country.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has allowed businesses to import a further 50,000 tonnes of sugar in the quota of 2010.

Executives from 10 Irish technology and software companies will visit Vietnam next month to look for business opportunities, according to the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s HCM City office.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, signed an agreement with Atlantic Commodities Vietnam Ltd, a subsidiary of ECOM Agro-industrial Corporation to establish the first training center for Vietnamese coffee farmers on March 15.

Vietnamese Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh has invited Laos to participate in celebrations of the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi and policy making to attract tourists.

A seminar was held in Ho Chi Minh City on March 15 to discuss measures to fight counterfeit products and protect trademarks and consumer rights.

Exports to Japan have surpassed US$1.7 billion the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership (AJECP) agreement took effect in December 2008, offering preferential tariffs to Vietnam.

A delegation led by president of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) has attended the Asia Business Summit being held in Tokyo, Japan.

A number of businesses in Ho Chi Minh City have asked State agencies to recruit overseas employees to ease the labour shortage that often occurs after the traditional Lunar New Year Festival.

A fair of high-quality Vietnamese goods held in An Giang province bordering Cambodia has been visited by more than 300,000 shoppers and earned a total revenue of over VND32 billion.

The fall in domestic salt prices, which is badly hurting farmers has not been caused by imports that the government has allowed, affirms Nguyen Thanh Bien, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade.

Businesses in the central province Nghe An are implementing solutions to increase exports to China.

The Taiwanese-invested Guang Lian Steel Vietnam Co Ltd will resume construction of a multi-billion-dollar steel plant in the central province of Quang Ngai this month.

MobiFone, World of Mobile Phones and Nokia secured the most important titles of Vietnam Mobile Awards 2009 that were announced at a ceremony in Hanoi on March 14.

The international Vietnam Manufacturing Expo 2010 will take place in Hanoi from May 20-22, displaying state-of-the-art manufacturing technology in plastics, moulding, automobile spare parts, and automation.

Bilateral trade between Vietnam and Singapore has increased by fivefold to more than SGD50 billion since the two countries signed a framework agreement to connect their economies in 2005.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has agreed to a plan to organise the Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Festival in 2010 in the Central Highland province of Dak Lak.

The US Department of Commerce (DoC) has announced preliminary results from the fourth administrative review on Vietnamese warmwater shrimp imported to the country from February 1, 2008 through January 31, 2010, says the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).