Southern Fruit Festival 2013 opens in HCM City   A parade at the Southern Fruit Festival 2013. Photo: VNA Farmers from 21 provinces and cities are showcasing their special fruits at the Southern Fruit Festival 2013, which opened in Ho Chi Minh City on June 1. The annual event hosted by the city aims to introduce to domestic and foreign tourists a variety of Vietnamese fruits, especially those produced in southern provinces. It also offers an opportunity for farmers, producers, distributors and consumers to meet and tighten their relations, thus improving the values of the Vietnamese fruit brand. A special feature of this year’s event is a floating market made of 55 boats that sell more than 180 kinds of special fruits at prices 20-40 percent lower than market prices. They include famous trademarks such as Hoang Hau dragon in Long An, Cai Mon durian in Ben Tre, Tan Trieu pomelo in Dong Nai, Vinh Kim seedless guava in Tien Giang, Dang Van Ro green skin pomelo, Binh Phuoc papaya and Hoa Loc sweet mango. Visitors will have a chance to contemplate 300 alien kinds of fruits which made the 2011 festival set a record for the most varieties of fruits. During the event, the 5th Safe and Delicious Fruit Contest will be held with more than 700 varieties of 11 kinds of fruits. It aims to encourage farmers to apply advanced technology to produce high quality varieties of fruit with the best productivity. A fruit parade, art performances from Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, the Republic of Korea and Indonesia, fruits depicting graphic arts, gastronomy arts, folk games and sports activities are also available at the festival. Co-hosted by the HCM City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Suoi Tien Culture Tourism Corporation, and the city’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the event will run until September 2.-VNA