HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Vietnamhas the potential to boost its exports of star anise and cinnamon, but needssupportive policies from the Government, the Lang Son Star Anise Associationhas said.

Star anise and cinnamon are two non-timberforest species grown in Vietnam for over 100 years.

Cinnamon is mostly grown in Yen Bai, Lao Cai,Ha Giang, Thanh Hoa, and Quang Nam on around 150,000ha, while star anise isplanted in Lang Son, Cao Bang and Quang Ninh on 50,000ha, providing asustainable livelihood for more than 200,000 ethnic minority households, itsaid.

According to statistics from the WorldSpice Organisation, globally Vietnam ranks third in cinnamon production andsecond in star anise production.

The two products are mainly consumed inIndia, the Middle East, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the US, and the EU, withannual shipments being worth around 400 million USD.

Nguyen Que Anh, chairman of the board andpresident of the association, said in countries with highly developedprocessing industries, cinnamon and star anise are the main raw materials incosmetic and pharmaceutical production.

In particular, shikimic acid is used bypharmaceutical companies to produce Tamiflu, a bird flu medicine.

Anh, who is also chairman of the VietnamStaraniseed Cassia Manufacturing and Exporting Company Limited (Vina Samex CoLtd), said his company earned 12 million USD from export of the two productslast year, with the main markets being India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, andEurope.

For developing high-quality products, thecompany has tied up with over 500 farmers and authorities in Yen Bai and LangSon provinces since 2013 to ensure raw material sources.

Last year it obtained the internationalorganic certificate for over 1,000ha of cinnamon and star anise forests that ithas developed together with local farmers, becoming the first company in Vietnamto get the certificate, he said.

“The certificate has helped raise the valueof the products twofold.”

There is huge potential to increasecinnamon and star anise exports, he said.

But the industry faces challenges such as alack of quality seeds and use of old planting, cultivating, harvesting,processing and preservation techniques, he said.

As a result, there is not enough supply tomeet the requirements set by demanding markets, he said.

There are more than 600 companies in thespice sector, but most are trading companies who do not care about developinglinks with growers, he said.

Thus, farmers often face price uncertainty,he said.

Most companies involved in the sector aresmall or medium-sized, and so do not have the resources to invest in technologyand increase their products’ value, he said.

To develop sustainably and further increasethe value of cinnamon and star anise products and their exports, theassociation has asked the Government provide soft loans to ethnic farmers andenterprises, incentives to encourage research into new varieties and transferof new production and processing technologies.

“The Government should have a master planfor cinnamon and star anise farming so that investors can come up withlong-term investment strategies.”

The Ministry of Industry and Trade should helpbusinesses participate in specialised fairs to promote export of the two productsto affluent markets.-VNS/VNA