At a press conference on April 17 to introduce the event, Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism Chau Thanh Hai, the festival is a chance for the province to promote the image of its land and people as well as typical products from grape – a specialty of the locality.

The festival aims to honour grape growers who have greatly contributed to building the trademark of Ninh Thuan grape, while giving a chance for them to meet and exchange experience with scientists, experts and businesses in the field, he said.

Hai said that in the framework of the event, a number of festive activities will be held, including field-trips to grape and apple growing and producing farms; an industry-trade fair; a contest for ethnic minority groups in the province; a performance of Raglai’s “Bo ma” (farewell to the dead) ceremony; a street festival; and a beach sport festival.

In 2012, Ninh Thuan’s grape varieties were granted geographical indication (GI) certification by the National Office of Intellectual Property.

It has nearly 1,300ha under the fruit, 80 percent of it red cardinal and the rest other varieties, and an annual output of 30,000 tonnes.