Black garlic (ferment garlic roots) products are on sale at a shopping area in Đà Nẵng. A plant producing black garlic (ferment garlic root) wine and herbal production factory will be built in Đà Nẵng City in August. — Photo courtesy of Lê Lâm

ĐÀ NẴNG – CMA Vua Tỏi (King of Garlic) Herbal company has started the construction of the country’s first black garlic (fermented garlic root) wine factory with an investment of VNĐ8 billion (US$320,000), setting up the first herbal and global production chain in Đà Nẵng City.

The director of the company, Nguyễn Văn Định, said the factory was designed with a capacity of 60,000 litres of black garlic wine, of which 50,000 litres will be traditionally stored in an underground cooling area.

Định said the factory would use 68 tonnes of Global Good Agriculture Practices (Global GAP) home-grown garlic for the unique healthy black garlic wine.  400 tonnes of Lý Sơn Islands seaweed and mountain-planted Ngọc Linh ginseng roots and leaves for herbal production.

He said an area of 68ha in the rural area of Đà Nẵng has been allocated for the development of a Global GAP-based farm in building the herbal production industry with international standards for worldwide export.

The factory will be a herbal farming and production destination in the development of eco-tour services in the city's tourism plan.

Đà Nẵng City has called for more investment in herb farms on 400,000sq.m in Hòa Vang Commune, 20km west of the city centre, and a high-tech agriculture zone with a total investment of $66.3 million.

Seven suburban communes had been planned as high high-quality and safe agricultural zone in Hòa Vang Commune with a total area of 540ha

The commune has been designed as a key medicinal herbal farming zone with the World Health Organisation-guided Good Agricultural and Collection Practice (GACP-WHO) standards.

A report from the city’s Department of Agriculture and Environment revealed that 12 suburban farms in Đà Nẵng had been given certifications of safety and quality-or brand names.

The Việt Nam Dairy Products Joint-Stock Company (Vinamilk) had invested $26.5 million in a dairy farm on 124ha in Hòa Vang commune. — VNS