Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan on Tuesday attended the first-ever carrot harvest festival held in the northern province of Hai Duong.

The carrot harvest festival is held in Hai Duong Province Province on February 15
The event, which aimed to promote the quality, branding and sale of Hai Duong carrots at home and abroad, also saw the attendance of famous local football stars including Nguyen Hoang Duc, Nguyen Trong Dai, and Nguyen Duc Chien who were born in the province.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the festival, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Trieu The Hung said that carrots were among Hai Duong’s eight key agricultural products and are primarily planted in Cam Giang and Nam Sach districts, as well as Chi Linh city.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan and officials of Hai Duong Province attend the festival
"Carrots are being grown across 1,600 hectares in our province following VietGap and GlobalGAP standards, yielding more than 80,000 tonnes annually," the official said. "We are exporting 80 percent of our carrot output to South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and some European and Middle Eastern countries."
Hai Duong chairman said that they decided to organise the festival in the spring, which is the best time for planting, to express their gratitude to the heavens and earth for creating such favourable weather conditions for the development of their farm produce.
"We also pray for better crops and introduce our products to more markets at the festival," he said.
Agriculture Minister Le Minh Hoan praised Hai Duong authorities for their efforts to build up and promote brands for their agricultural products.
"We believe that by employing high-tech agriculture and proper promotional programmes, Hai Duong will be successful with their quality farm products," minister Hoan said. "I think that the province can also try launching agriculture tours which provide farming experiences and local food specialities to visitors."
At the festival, delegations and visitors took part in the carrot harvest, visited carrot growing areas and processing establishments and attended a parade at Tam Phu temple in Duc Chinh commune.