Vietnam strives for added rice export value

Vietnam’s ST25 rice surpassed many other rice varieties from other countries to win first prize in the World’s Best Rice Contest 2019 within the framework of the November World Rice Conference in Manila, the Philippines. The title, following decades of branding, has delivered a boost to the country’s rice exports.

Boost to exports

In 2015, AGPPS 103, a rice variety of the Loc Troi Group, was placed on the top-three list of the World’s Best Rice 2015 by The Rice Trader, the world’s leading trade publication dedicated to in-depth analyses of the global rice industry. ST24 was the second rice brand in Vietnam to be listed among the world’s top-three rice varieties list after it came third in the 9th World’s Best Rice event in Macau, China in 2017.

Tran Thanh Hai, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Agency of Foreign Trade said that in recent years, as a result of concerted efforts by Vietnamese enterprises to improve rice quality, the price sharply increased to US$502 per tonne in 2018, higher than that of the same kind of Thai product. High quality rice accounted for 80 percent of Vietnam’s rice exports in 2018. In 2019, although rice exports encountered difficulties, high quality rice products including parboiled rice and organic rice, carved out a major niche on the global market.

Cambodia has become a top-five rice exporter to the EU, and its rice exports to China have also soared. Since participating in the annual World Best Rice contest, Cambodia’s rice has been honored in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2018. This shows that the world’s best rice title that Vietnam has achieved can deliver a boost to rice exports.

Rice export facilitation

Phan Van Chinh, Director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Agency of Foreign Trade said the ministry and relevant sectors and authorities have been facilitating implementation of rice export targets. The ministry has verified the capability of 22 rice exporters at the request of Chinese importers, while creating the best conditions for rice enterprises to develop in accordance with Government Decree 107/2018/ND-CP dated August 15, 2018.

According to Decree 107, businesses involved in trading organic and parboiled rice products and rice products with micronutrient elements do not need a rice export registration certificate and rice storage, Chinh said, and this helps high-quality rice exporters.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade is strengthening rice exports to markets with which Vietnam has signed a free trade agreement (FTA), including the EU, Japan, and the Republic of Korea (RoK), taking advantage of tariff preferences to increase rice export value and promote Vietnamese rice. The rice import tax will be zeroed as soon as the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) comes into effect. Although the EU doesn’t have high demand for rice imports, exporting rice to such a discerning market in the world will help Vietnam promote its rice brands.

According to agricultural expert Professor Vo Tong Xuan, the world’s best rice title of ST25 will provide greater opportunities for Vietnamese rice products in foreign markets. However, to take advantage of the opportunities, Vietnam must restructure its rice production industry consistently and according to production chains, he said. Enterprises need to form a large material area to produce a certain rice variety, minimize the use of pesticides, develop production according to specific plans, and hold rice trade promotion events, Xuan added.