Speaking at the press briefing, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Tran Thi Kieu Ton said the highlight of the festival is community-based activities such as food display, folk and children song performances in coconut orchards.

Within the framework of the festival, the culture – arts – tourism week will also be held to honour coconut trees, products and processors.

In particular, an exhibition of coconut products and a trade fair are expected to draw about 400 stalls along with competitions to choose outstanding handicraft products made from coconut, businesspeople and coconut farmers in the province.

Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Van Duc said the organising board will also hold tours of Ben Tre’s rivers, ecological tourism sites and coconut orchards.

In addition, a “ba ba” shirt festival will also be organised for the first time to honour traditional costume of women in the south.

The walking street on Dong Khoi boulevard and coconut space at Cai Coi park will introduce Ben Tre coconut culture to visitors.

They are expected to help Ben Tre province promote its advantage in exports of coconut products, and raise public awareness of the local coconut culture and potential of the local fruit.

Duc said the festival will encourage farmers to use modern technology in coconut cultivation, afford Ben Tre a chance to boost trade, investment and tourism.

On the occasion, the Mekong Innovation Hub will debut while seminars on improving value chain of coconut trees in adaptation with climate change, tourism development based on linkages with Mekong Delta cities and provinces.

Ben Tre province accounts for half of the country’s coconut plantation land, and 80 percent of the Mekong Delta’s coconut cultivation areas. The province also is home to 163,000 households involved in farming 71,000 ha of coconut trees, or half of Vietnam’s coconut-growing land.

The locality earns average 200 million USD from coconut exports each year, 25 percent of which is contributed by with processed products.

Ben Tre’s coconuts are exported to about 84 countries and territories worldwide.

The coconut industry has been a culture of the locality, which plays an important role in local socio-economic development./.

VNF/VNA