(VNF) - Canadian beef, pork as well as a wide range of Canadian seafood including lobster, geoduck, oysters, black cod, snow crab, salmon, mussels, and sea urchin; Canadian wines and beer, maple syrup, Ambrosia apples, frozen cherries and dried fruits will be featured in the 2015 Canadian Food Festival in Ho Chi Minh city.

Scheduled to last until December 9th at Le Méridien Saigon Hotel (No 3t Ton Duc Thang street, Ben Nghe ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh city), this Festival is an annual event organized by the Embassy of Canada to promote the best Canadian food products to Vietnamese consumers.

“I am delighted to launch the 2015 Canadian Food Festival in HCMC to introduce some of Canada’s world known culinary specialties. Canada has a world-class food and agriculture sector, and I’m pleased to note that Vietnamese consumers are recognizing and choosing Canadian products due to the quality, freshness, and great taste,” remarked Canadian Ambassador to Vietnam David Devine.

Highlight of this year event was the participation from the governments of British Columbia and Alberta. “These two provinces have unique advantages as world-class food suppliers. While British Columbia offers a wide range of world-famous fish and seafood products from Pacific coast, fruits and wines, Alberta is a producer of premium beef, pork and a range of wheat, grains and pulse products”, added the Ambassador.

Canada and Vietnam enjoy positive and growing trade relations, with the bilateral trade reaching an all-time high of CAN4.40 billion for the period September 2014- August 2015, making Vietnam Canada’s largest trade partner in ASEAN. Agriculture and agri-food are an important aspect of Canada’s trade with Vietnam, representing more than half of Canada’s total exports to the country.

There is bright prospect for advancing the trade even further under the recently concluded Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement. This kind of event will help to further increase the awareness and receptiveness of Canadian products amongst local consumers in Vietnam, and tap on the opportunities offered by the trade liberalization to promote the bilateral trade between the two countries./.

( VNF )