Vietnamese rice wins Worlds Best Rice Contest 2019

ST25 rice wins contest held as part of World Rice Conference in Manila, the Philippines, from November 11-13.

Within the framework of the World Rice Conference in Manila, the Philippines, from November 11 to 13, Vietnam’s ST25 rice surpassed many other rice varieties from other countries to win First Prize in the World’s Best Rice Contest 2019.

ST25 rice was created by a research team including Mr. Ho Quang Cua, Dr. Tran Tan Phuong, and Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Huong in the Mekong Delta’s Soc Trang province, based on research done ten years ago. In 2014, the fragrant rice was trialed and in 2016 began to be planted. It is a short-term rice variety that is much more disease-resistant than certain traditional varieties that yield up to seven tons per hectare. In addition to being a specialty rice, ST25 is also considered a climate-resilient variety in the Mekong Delta. The rice grows well in saline and alum soil and is extremely suitable for rice-shrimp intercropping areas, which are common in the Delta.

The judging panel was made up of several international chefs, who judged each submission by inspecting their visual aspects and performing a sensory evaluation of each, including in the pre-cooked and cooked stage.

ST25 rice has the characteristics of white fragrant rice. The productive high-quality rice is very popular among farmers as well as local consumers, so planting areas have expanded quickly in recent times. The rice has won many awards nationally and internationally.

Second place was claimed by a rice product from Thailand, a type that had previously been crowned the World’s Best Rice five times. Previous winners also include a Cambodian rice that claimed first place four times, while a type of rice from the US has won twice.

ST25 rice previously made an impact at the “9th International Conference on Rice Trade” held in Macau (China) in 2017, when it was honored in the Top Three world’s best rice. It also won first prize at the 3rd Rice Festival in 2018 in the Mekong Delta’s Long An province.

It also won first prize at the first Vietnam Rice Contest held by the Vietnam Food Administration on November 4.

The 2019 World Rice Conference, the world’s premier conference on rice, was its eleventh annual holding and is the largest annual gathering of commercial and professional rice industry participants.