First star anise festival opens in Lang Son
Star anise products were nudged closer to both domestic and foreign enterprises at the first star anise festival, which took place in Van Quan town, Van Quan district, the northern mountainous province of Lang Son on May 27-28.
According to Nguyen Que Anh, chairman of the provincial association of star anise production and trade, the festival created a venue for farmers and enterprises to exchange experience on star anise plantation and processing.
Lang Son province is currently home to over 35,000 hectares of star anise, the largest area in the country. The plant is grown in Van Quan, Binh Gia, Cao Loc, Trang Dinh and Van Lang districts.
Star anise brings an annual income of VND200 billion-VND300 billion (US$8.9 million-US$13.4 million) for 15,000 local households. It has also helped reduce poverty in the locality in the past few years.