Vietnam is looking into replacing vegetables imported from China, amidst food safety concerns, with Da Lat greens produced in Vietnam.
Currently Vietnam’s northern markets consume around 700 metric tons of agricultural products a day, of which 200 metric tons are from China and 50 metric tons come from Da Lat. The rest are transported from other sources.
The imported Chinese products are considered unsafe, whilst Da Lat products meet their safety standards.
To avoid eating unsafe products from China, many are also choosing to cultivate vegetables in private gardens, rooftops or on shelves for home use.
Da Lat vegetables have been exported to ten nations worldwide but are absent from the domestic market in the Vietnamese capital. The distribution of Da Lat vegetables in Hanoi is beneficial to both Da Lat producers and local residents.
"Vietnam should set up a strong chain of distribution for farming products so that Da Lat vegetables can beat the Chinese produce in Hanoi and other domestic markets." said Vu Tien Loc, chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
There are currently 17,000 hectares of farming land for cultivating vegetables that produces 2.3 million metric tons a year.
"Our farmers can expand their vertical production area to plant vegetables on shelves. So we can increase the output if we have stable markets." said Nguyen Van Yen, vice chairman of the People’s Committee of Lam Dong Province
