The Red River Delta (hereafter as RRD) is one of the two biggest deltas in Vietnam
with the population is 19,625 million persons in 2009. It is also the most populous area with the
population density of 932 person/km2 in 2009 (General Statistics Office, 2010). Tien Hai District
of Thai Binh Province locates in the eastern part of the RRD, lies in the coastal zone - a sensitive
area and affected by the interaction between the mainland and the South China Sea (in Vietnamese
as Biển Đông - East Sea). The study area of this research is Van Truong Commune locates in the
“old-land” area. Analysis of the roles of rural industry will show the characteristics of one of the
fundamental features of the rural development process particularly in Tien Hai District as well as
in the RRD.
Non-farm work is a useful solution to gradually bridge the income gap between urban and
rural areas, in which rural industry has been paid attention to develop (UNIDO, 2000).
Nevertheless, in a long time, the role of rural industry has been neglected because the mode of
production was followed the state-owned enterprises and cooperatives. The objective of the paper
is to analyze the realistic situation of rural industry in the RRD by tracing the characteristics of
rural industry in Van Truong Commune, Tien Hai District, Thai Binh Province.
