(VNA): Vietnamese people, with their industriousness and creativity, have produced unique for-export articles made of natural raw materials.

Such products have not only brought economic benefits but also social benefits, including job generation and environmentally friendly activities.

The earliest products were made from coconut coir and shell. Coconut trees, which have long been considered as a symbol of numerous southern provinces, have been well-known not only for the coconut sweets but also for many processed for-export products.

Over the past few years, Ho Chi Minh City's Kim Boi Company has exported hundreds of articles made from coconut shells and coconut trees to the United States. It has also exported coconut shells and coir to the Republic of Korea, China, the Netherlands, Japan, and Germany, earning about US $300,000 per year and providing jobs for 100 labourers.

The model yachts, which originated in European countries, have been re-produced by Vietnamese artisans and are now exported to such countries.

Each model yacht is worth at least  US $1 and prices can reach US $100, said artisan Nguyen Vuong An Huy, a manufacturer of such products and owner of the Co Kim fine art company in Ho Chi Minh City. To build the most beautiful yacht will take between 20 and 30 working days.

The company earned US $600,000 from exports of such products to the United States, the Republic of Korea and European countries. With their profits, the company has invested VND 2.5 billion in building a new plant in the southeastern province of Dong Nai with the aim of raising production capacity and meeting big contracts for such products.

To buy a lamp mainly made of Vietnam's colourful sand in the US, Taiwan or the Czech Republic, you would now need between US $6 and 50. With such natural colourful sand in Cam Ranh, Phan Thiet and Da Lat, Vietnamese artisans have produced designs of birds, water waves, flowers and leaves, which are used in vases or for special lamps.

Using the colourful sand, artisan Nguyen Huu Duy has created sand pictures with the symbols of 12 animals representing 12 years, and landscapes of the sea and countryside as well as portraits of well-known persons. Such products with Van Thien Sa trademark have won numerous contracts from foreign customers, especially from European countries and Singapore.

Bamboo trees, which have been, for a long time, an image closely associated with the Vietnamese people, now have been used to build houses and for internal decor - an idea of overseas Vietnamese people which has proved to be very attractive to the US market.

In addition, many other products have taken Vietnam's special characteristics to other countries, such as wood pictures, and pottery bowls with tree images. These products can be found in many countries in the world and this has not only contributed to the national socio-economic development but also helped make the image of Vietnam more beautiful and modern while still imbued with national identity./.