Apples and blueberries in the spotlight at multi-week festival held in Hanoi
The US embassy in Hanoi hosted the launch of The Great American BBQ Festival on 17 September, an event designed to spotlight a range of premium US food and agricultural products to Vietnamese consumers.
According to local media reports, the event has been held annually since 2022 to celebrate the growing agricultural partnership between Vietnam and the US.
The theme of this year’s festival is “From America’s Land and Sea to Vietnam’s Table”. More than 20 high-quality US ingredients – including Washington apples, blueberries, US potatoes, California walnuts and prunes – were featured in a diverse selection of dishes prepared for the launch event.
Over the two-week festival, Hemispheres Steak & Seafood Grill, one of Hanoi’s acclaimed dining destinations, will offer a specially curated five-course menu highlighting the diversity and quality of American agricultural products.
Mark Petry, USDA agricultural minister counselor, said the menu would showcase the quality of US produce.
“Through the Great American BBQ Festival, we are delighted to introduce Vietnamese consumers to the exceptional quality and diversity of US agricultural products while celebrating the strong agricultural partnership between the US and Vietnam,” Petry said.
According to a report from Báo Lao Động, Duyen Le, communications manager in Vietnam of the California Milk Advisory Board, US Highbush Blueberries, and Washington Apples, said Vietnam has been an important growth market for US apples.
”In the early days of our market development, only about 50,000 cartons of apples were exported to Vietnam each year. But now it has reached about 2mn cartons,” she said at the launch.
To help facilitate further exports to Vietnam, the USDA held a trade mission in March 2026, and a second trade mission is scheduled for November.
