Vietnamese rice production qualified for premium export markets

Expanding rice production area to meet export standards

According to Mr. Le Huu Toan, Deputy Director of Kien Giang province's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the province aims to achieve a rice output of at least 4.4 million metric tons in compliance with the 2023 grain production targets. Accordingly, over 90% of the production area is expected to meet high-quality rice production standards. Most notably, the province has supported farmers and agricultural cooperatives in standardized rice production with a focus on good agricultural practices, organic farming, and production unit codes in combination with origin traceability.

During the 2022-2023 Winter-Spring and Main crops, Kien Giang province successfully produced 27,187 hectares of rice meeting SRP, organic, VietGAP, GlobalGAP standards. Additionally, strict control over residues and the assurance of food safety were maintained to meet the demands of export markets including the EU, the United States, and Japan, among others. Namely, efforts were directed towards the production of standardized rice across 1,670 hectares during the Winter-Spring crop. This area included 1,474 hectares of transitioning certified organic rice production areas, and 196 hectares of VietGAP-compliant rice production areas. These standardized rice production efforts were the results of the collaborative partnerships with various local businesses, including Dai Duong Xanh Company, Dien Tin Company, Ho Quang Company, and the Organic Agricultural Cooperative in Rach Gia.

During the 2022-2023 Winter-Spring crop, the province expanded the area of standardized rice production to 25,517 hectares. Accordingly, Loc Troi Group initiated production contracts, established production linkages, and performed technological transfer on 8,716 hectares to the EU and 318 hectares to the US; Trung An High-Tech Agricultural Company produced GlobalGAP-compliant rice on 400 hectares and organic rice on 200 hectares. Additionally, various companies have collaborated to produce rice on 15,783 hectares, with a focus on effective residue control to meet export and domestic consumption requirements. These collaborators include Loc Troi Group, Dien Tin Company, Kitoku Company, and Xuan Phuong Limited Liability Company.

Kien Giang province initiated rice production on 1,334 large paddy fields in 2023, for a total area of 167,225 hectares. These figures represent an increase of 641 large paddy fields and 57,893 hectares compared to 2022. Most notably, 1,026 of these large paddy fields, which covered an area of nearly 120,700 hectares, were associated with businesses' consumption contracts. The purchasing prices in the contracts were favorable as they consistently exceeded the market rates due to the effective control of residues, safe food production, and compliance with export standards to markets in the EU, the US, Japan, and others.

Organic rice production on shrimp farming land

Kien Giang province boasts the largest rice-shrimp production area in the Mekong Delta region, covering an area of over 102,000 hectares. These integrated areas are predominantly located in the U Minh Thuong region, which is highly conducive to organic rice production. Accordingly, An Minh district contains largest rice-shrimp production area in the province at over 39,000 hectares, with an annual rice production area of 25,000 hectares.

According to Mr. Le Van Khanh, Head of Agriculture and Rural Development in An Minh district, the district has been transitioning to rice-shrimp integrated farming for over twenty years since 2001. The district has effectively planned and executed the production model, resulting in a stable implementation of the shrimp-rice farming practiced by the local community. The district's successful rice production in recent years has contributed to the increasing effectiveness of the rice-shrimp farming model. Namely, An Minh district sowed and harvested an area of 25,579 hectares for the 2022-2023 Winter-Spring crop, with an estimated yield of 130,000 metric tons. Primary varieties of fragrant and specialty rice, including ST5, ST24, and ST25, constituted 30% of the yield, with the remainder comprising local seasonal rice varieties such as Mot Bui Do among others.

According to Mr. Khanh, An Minh district plans to deploy rice-shrimp integrated farming on an area of 27,000 hectares for the 2023-2024 crop. Farmers are currently utilizing rainwater for the desalination process, resulting in more than 29,000 hectares of production area being treated. Subsequently, the total sowed area reached nearly 24,000 hectares by the end of September, with over 17,500 hectares undergoing trimming and transplanting, whereas the remainder are directly sown.

Agricultural cooperatives in An Minh district have recently formed partnerships for standardized rice production and signed contracts for rice consumption with several companies including Dai Duong Xanh, Ho Quang Tri Company, and Tan Long Group. These contracts, which focus on ST5, ST24, and ST25 rice varieties, have generated significant profits for local farmers. Most notably, businesses have contracted 260 hectares of organic rice production area on shrimp-farming land for the 2023-2024 Winter-Spring crop, with the aim of producing premium rice for domestic consumption as well as export.

Kien Giang province currently has a total of 363 production unit codes, which cover an area of 12,122 hectares and 15 different types of crops. Accordingly, 165 production unit codes are designated for export, and the remaining 198 domestic codes are pending approval for export by the Department of Plant Protection. A total of 302 production unit codes have been issued for nearly 6,500 hectares of rice production area. These production unit codes are designated for export to the EU, the US, Japan, China, Malaysia, and Singapore.