Nearly 40 thousand visitors have thronged to the opening of the Southern Fruit Festival, which is taking place in Ho Chi Minh City from June 1-8, to enjoy a variety of fruit specialties from the region and other localities.

One of the highlights of the annual festival will be a floating market with 70 booths selling more than 180 kinds of fruit at prices 20-40 percent lower than market norms.

A collection of rare and giant fruits such as a 60kg pumpkin and a 10kg mango promises to surprise the festive-goers.

At the opening of the event, a Safe and Delicious Fruit Contest was held, introducing to visitors different kinds of fruit grown by farmers from 21 cities and provinces.

A fruit parade, music performances staged by both domestic and foreign art troupes and folk games are also to be made available at the festival.

Vice Chairwoman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thi Hong highlighted the event as an occasion to tighten links between farmers, distributors and customers.

Started in 2004, the annual festival has become a popular cultural tourism event, honoring the agricultural values of Vietnam and the southern region in particular.

The southern region boasts 415,800 ha of land for fruit cultivation, producing around 4.3 million tonnes per year, accounting for 53.2 percent and 57 percent of the country’s area and output, respectively.

Source: VNA/ Photo: nhandan.com.vn