Representatives of Đà Nẵng City and Hamyang County in the province of Gyeosangnam, South Korea, at a signing ceremony for a Memorandum of Understanding of friendship and cooperation. — Photo courtesy of Đà Nẵng City Portal

ĐÀ NẴNG — Đà Nẵng and Hamyang County in the province of Gyeosangnam, South Korea, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding of friendship and cooperation focusing on research and production of Ngọc Ling or Vietnamese ginseng (Panax vietnamensis), as well as a variety of other sectors.

The two sides agreed to collaborate on high-tech farming, culture, education, tourism and people-to-people exchanges, as well as on agricultural techniques, conservation and processing and marketing for both Vietnamese ginseng and Korean mountain ginseng (San yang sam), or wild ginseng, on the global market.

An engineer shows a sample of Ngọc Linh ginseng at a Sâm Sâm company laboratory in Đà Nẵng. Đà Nẵng has been speeding up the development of high-tech farming of Ngọc Linh ginseng. — VNS Photo Công Thành

Vice chairman of the Đà Nẵng People’s Committee Hồ Quang Bửu said that Ngọc Linh ginseng has been listed as a key herb for medicinal herb manufacturing in the central city’s strategic development plan. 

South Korea will be an important partner in cooperation, processing technology transfer, product storage and ginseng variety research, Bửu added.

Governor of Hamyang County Jin Byungyoung and the Korean delegation also presented coconut palms to the city to grow on the beach in Đà Nẵng to commemorate the cooperation deal.

Another MoU was also signed between Đà Nẵng’s Ngọc Linh Ginseng Association and South Korea’s Geumsan Ginseng Association, focusing on the development, research and global branding of ginseng and the medicinal herb industries.

Roots of Ngọc Linh ginseng on sale at the Ngọc Linh Ginseng Fair in Đà Nẵng. — VNS Photo Công Thành

A report from the Đà Nẵng International Ngọc Linh Ginseng and Medicinal Herbs Festival organising committee stated that more than 100 medicinal herbs businesses attended the three-day festival in Đà Nẵng. Revenues of VNĐ5.2 billion (nearly US$200,000) from the sale of ginseng roots and related products were collected at the event, according to the report.

Ngọc Linh ginseng was given original product recognition including Geographical Indication by the National Office of Intellectual Property of Việt Nam under the Ministry of Science and Technology, as well as a QR Code of Origin certification.

The rare ginseng has traditionally been farmed on more than 1,600ha of land in the mountainous region of Đà Nẵng at 1,400m above sea level to provide raw material for ginseng production.

A farmer cultivates Ngọc Linh ginseng in the mountainous rural Nam Trà My Commune. Local farmers and businesses lease forest canopy land to grow ginseng and other medicinal herbs. — Photo courtesy of Sâm Sâm Company

Sâm Sâm Company opened a $5.4 million factory for the production of capsules, essential oils, cosmetics, drinks and tea and food supplements from ginseng roots in Đà Nẵng's Tam Anh Industrial Park.

The local Thaco Group has also proposed developing Ngọc Linh ginseng conservation areas and high-tech processing facilities, as well as forest canopy (agroforestry) cultivation areas, on 4,600ha in Trà Linh and Trà Tập communes through 2031.

To date, 25 businesses and 1,800 households have leased forest canopy areas to grow Ngọc Linh ginseng.

Six enterprises and one household group currently have the right to use the Ngọc Linh geographical indication for ginseng root products, helping to enhance their market value.

The first e-commerce platform for Ngọc Linh ginseng and other medicinal herbs debuted in Nam Trà My in 2023.

A Ngọc Linh ginseng flower produces seeds that will be conserved for the next generation of crops. — Photo courtesy of Đà Nẵng City's Ngọc Linh Ginseng Association

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism recognises the folk knowledge associated with cultivating Ngọc Linh ginseng as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Đà Nẵng’s Department of Agriculture and Environment said planning for the ginseng and medicinal herbs zone would contribute to Việt Nam’s goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050. — VNS