Vietnam strives to brand rare and precious produce
Among Vietnam’s rare and precious herbs, Ngoc Linh ginseng and agarwood are in the top positions in terms of preciousness and selling prices.
However, it is difficult to buy genuine ginseng and agarwood because of counterfeit products in the market.
The first Ngoc Linh ginseng market day took place on October 1-3 in Nam Tra My district of Quang Nam province. All the ginseng products available, including 50 kilograms of ginseng bulbs, sold out as the demand was big, bringing VND4.5 billion.
The market day was organized under the initiative by Nam Tra My district’s authorities in a plan to fight against counterfeit products and protect the precious product worth tens of millions of dong per kilogram.
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A year ago, when Ngoc Linh ginseng received protection for geographical indication and recognition as national produce, the demand for ginseng began increasing rapidly and counterfeit ginseng began appearing in the market.
Meanwhile, there is only one ginseng examination center located in Ho Chi Minh City. The identification and distinction between real and counterfeit Ngoc Linh ginseng depend on ginseng growers’ and researchers’ experience.
Therefore, the Quang Nam provincial authorities allowed Nam Tra My district to organize Ngoc Linh ginseng market-day, once a month, in order to provide genuine Ngoc Linh ginseng to customers. The local authorities are taking responsibility for the quality of the products.
Nam Tra My authorities have been making every effort to develop a brand for Ngoc Linh ginseng in recent years. It organizes Ngoc Linh ginseng festivals, workshops and ginseng market-days, issues stamps with Ngoc Linh ginseng images and gives live reports about ginseng market-days on YouTube.
The activities have helped make Ngoc Linh ginseng become more popular and its selling price escalate. In 2015, one kilogram of ginseng was sold for VND30-50 million. One kilogram can be sold for VND60-VND90 million now.
In 2015, Nam Tra My had 120 hectares of ginseng growing area, but now it has 1,500 hectares. TH True Milk and Vingroup alone have decided to invest VND16 trillion to ginseng projects.
Agarwood market
Besides Ngoc Linh ginseng, Quang Nam province is also famous for its tram huong (agarwood).
In the past, only several shops in Da Nang City sold the product. However, the trade has become bustling recently, since more Chinese and Korean travelers are coming to the province. Meanwhile, more counterfeit products have appeared in the market where the demand is increasingly high.
In Da Nang and Nha Trang, incense and necklaces made of agarwood sell very well to travelers. The products are expensive, but the quality is unclear because there is no regulation about the required standards of the products.
