This is the first international scale event on ginseng, aromatic and medicinal herbs held in Ho Chi Minh City in particular and in Vietnam in general. The event takes place from May 24-28 with many activities.

Ho Chi Minh City's International Ginseng, Aromatic and Medicinal Herbs Festival brings together the participation of 11 countries with 14 delegations of local leaders and international ministries; as well as 20 provinces and cities of Vietnam. In particular, there will be the presence of 160 businesses displaying products, models of experiencing ginseng and aromatherapy, medicinal herbs, 40 culinary experience booths, more than 55 art performances divided into 8 program performance frames by 7 domestic localities and 4 international performing troupes.

According to Mr. Vo Van Hoan, Vice Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, the Festival will be a premise to promote the development of the ginseng, aromatic, and medicinal herbs industries, creating opportunities for Ho Chi Minh City and other localities and businesses in domestic and international exchanges, sharing experiences and finding partners, thereby enhancing the value and image of Vietnamese ginseng; bringing Vietnamese ginseng products, aromatic, and medicinal herbs in general, "Vietnam's National Treasure" - Ngoc Linh Ginseng in particular, to the world.

Besides economic goals, the Festival's activities will bring vivid cultural experiences to people and tourists. At the same time, creating conditions for city residents to learn about rare and endemic domestic and international ginseng products, aromatic, and medicinal herbs.

Vietnam is blessed by nature with enormous potential in terms of ginseng sources and rare endemic spices and medicinal herbs. In the world, Vietnam ranks 14th in biodiversity.

According to statistics from the Institute of Medicinal Materials, Vietnam has more than 5,000 species of plants and fungi, and 75 types of minerals with medicinal uses. Among them, there are many rare medicinal herbs such as Ngoc Linh ginseng, Lai Chau ginseng, golden orchid, wild Panax ginseng, etc.

Vietnam witnesses impressive growth of the pharmaceutical industry, reaching 8.5 billion USD in 2023 and is expected to continue to grow in the coming years.

“With the trend of using natural medicinal herbs for health care in the world, we need to seize opportunities to promote the development of the ginseng, aromatic, and medicinal industries. Thereby, making Vietnam one of the key countries, famous for ginseng and aromatic and medicinal herbs in the world, especially with indigenous ginseng species such as Ngoc Linh ginseng - the 20th type of ginseng being discovered in the world and is considered the National Treasure of Vietnam, said Vice Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee.

To achieve the above goal, Vietnam's ginseng, aromatic, and medicinal herbs industry needs to overcome challenges, modernize processing technology, effectively produce, and commercialize products.

Ho Chi Minh City leaders expect that the 2024 International Ginseng, Aromatic and Medicinal Herbs Festival in Ho Chi Minh City will be held for the first time and will contribute to implementing Decision No. 611 of the Prime Minister on the program "Development of Developing Vietnamese Ginseng to 2030, orientation to 2045" and implementing the Resolution of the 11th Ho Chi Minh City Party Congress, term 2020 - 2025 on "Application of high science and technology in agricultural production ”.

As the country's leading locality in high-tech agriculture, Ho Chi Minh City is ready to be a bridge to promote exchange and development of the ginseng, aromatic and medicinal herbs industries nationwide and internationally, "becoming a center of varieties of trees and animals of the area".

Author: Nguyen Thuy

Translated by Bao Ngoc