Vietnamese rice needs its own trademark in the UK

Vietnamese rice exported to the UK is rising sharply but sold under the UK distributors' trademarks instead of its own brand.

According to Vietnam Trade Office in the UK, in 2020 the volume of Vietnamese rice exports to the UK was 762,526 tons, up 13.5% compared to 617,601 tons in 2019.

Vietnamese rice exports to the UK is still modest, reaching 3,396 tons in 2020, worth US$2.68 million only accounting for 0.45% of the UK's rice total import. However,  Vietnamese rice exported to the UK is growing strongly. In comparison to 2019,Vietnamese rice exports to the UK in 2020 rose by 116% in volumes and 106% in value.

A rice factory  of Vinaseed -  a company exporting fragrant rice to the UK.

Do Ha Nam, Chairman of  Intimex Joint Stock Company (​Intimex Group) , company owns a rice milling and processing factory in Dong Thap with capacity of 300,000 tons per year, said  the UK- Vietnam Free Trade  Agreement (UKVFTA) is an opportunity for Vietnamese rice to access the UK market.  Previously, Vietnam exported just a small quantity of rice to the UK due to high tariff. Therefore, zero tariff in the UK market under the trade pact will help Vietnamese rice go faster to this market.

Sources from rice exporting firms in the Mekong Delta reveal that they are expecting greater rice exports to the UK this year, especially fragrant rice. Because under the UKFTA, Vietnamese fragrant rice exported to the UK will be tax-exempt instead of  being imposed 17.4% tax as before. Thanks to that, Vietnamese rice will gain competitive edge over rivals, including those from Thailand.

ST 25 rice was honored as "the best rice in the world" in 2019 but little-known in the UK.

However, Vietnam Trade Office in the UK said  although thousands of tons of Vietnamese rice exported to this market, majority of Vietnamese rice sold in the UK is trademarked by its distributors in the kingdom instead of  respective names of growing areas or exporters. The reason is that Vietnamese rice exporting firms have not yet built their own trademarks or some distributors in the UK believed that their own trademarks are more effective in terms of marketing in comparison to those by Vietnamese exporters, especially Vietnamese rice remains unknown to British consumers.