The timing is great for Vietnamese rice

Taking full advantage of the current situation

Facing the new development of world events, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has quickly grasped the situation and carefully assessed the causes of these adjustments of countries In order to promptly give appropriate guidance on rice production and export.

“The reason countries around the world regulate rice policies stems from intrinsic causes to control escalating domestic prices and ensure food supply. Some countries are heavily affected by the El Nino phenomenon, the rice production activities are full of difficulties, hence a sharp decrease in terms of rice output, so it is normal for countries to adjust policies related to rice,” said  Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Hoang Trung.

Vietnam always maintains a rice production area of more than 7 million hectares, output of more than 43 million tons per year on average. This creates favorable conditions for Vietnam’s rice industry to balance the two goals of ensuring domestic food security and providing raw materials for export in a harmonious and effective way.

Với tình hình như hiện tại, các doanh nghiệp của Việt Nam đang có nhiều lợi thế như giá gạo có chiều

As rice prices on the market have increased, Vietnamese rice businesses can take the initiative in negotiating and signing rice export contracts to get a better selling price. When businesses gain a higher selling price, they will purchase raw materials from producers at a better price. This contributes significantly to increasing the income of producers and stimulating production activities.

Deputy Minister Hoang Trung said, “More importantly, if Vietnamese businesses make full use of this opportunity, they will expand market share in traditional markets and gain more connections to access new markets. MARD will continue to request specialized agencies to handle technical barriers and problems in the process of exporting rice; strengthen negotiation to diversify the market, and create favorable conditions for businesses to promote rice export activities”.

Expanding price production area in the autumn - winter crop

The agricultural sector is performing very well the Official Telegram No. 610/CD-TTg of the Prime Minister issued on July 3, 2023 on strengthening the performance of tasks and solutions to promote rice production and export. MARD has advised the Government to consider promulgating a new directive to improve rice export activities in the new situation.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development also assigned the Department of Crop Production, the Department of Plant Protection, the Department of Water Resources to set up a team to inspect saltwater intrusion and drought prevention activities in real time, work with localities to assess the situation, consider increasing 50,000 ha of cultivated area in the upcoming autumn - winter crop in Mekong Delta provinces.

Regarding the solution to increasing the cultivated area, localities may consider taking advantage of the areas once converted to plant other crops to return to rice cultivation, applying scientific and technical advances to reduce inputs while ensuring rice productivity and quality.

Focusing on branding for export rice products

Deputy Minister Hoang Trung said that the Government has a scheme on building a Vietnamese rice brand with a vision to 2030. On that basis, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and other relevant associations and businesses are promoting activities to build a brand to increase the competitiveness of Vietnamese rice products.

When it comes to brand, it means quality and prestige. The entire rice industry needs to think of rice brand as a national brand. Any business using that brand must be reputable and their products must meet the criteria. As of now, Vietnam's rice brand has trademark protection in 17 countries around the world. This initially confirms the position of the Vietnamese rice brand in the world market.

"The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has drastically directed relevant units to complete the scheme of 1 million ha of high-quality rice associated with greenhouse gas emissions reduction. Doing this scheme well and replicating the specialized rice growing areas mean a new step for Vietnam's rice industry," said Deputy Minister Hoang Trung.