Joining hands to build Vietnamese rice brand - Part 1: Good rice must have a name

Many localities in the Mekong Delta have built their own rice brands. In the photo: Que Toi rice from Tra Vinh province displayed at the cooperation conference between Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta provinces at the end of November 2024 - Photo: CQ

Growing high-quality rice and building a brand for the rice to have a place in the market is a long process. However, many production and business units have succeeded after many years of focused efforts to invest and build the Vietnamese rice brand.

Together we make Vietnamese branded rice

The dragon blood rice brand of Mr. Nam Dau (Dong Thap) was once very famous, winning third prize in the Dong Thap province's delicious rice contest in 2022, but is still quietly building its brand. Mr. Le Van Dau - Nam Dau (Phu Thanh A commune, Tam Nong district) is famous for the "strange rice" variety that he successfully crossbred and named dragon blood rice.

In 2020, Nam Dau's red dragon rice was certified to register as a rice brand and a year later, Mr. Dau invested more than 700 million VND to build a rice milling factory to expand the production line. According to Mr. Nam Dau, the 10-hectare red dragon rice field is being produced in a safe direction, mostly using organic fertilizers, using one must and five reduction techniques.

Mr. Do Minh Hoang – Deputy Head of the Economic Infrastructure Department of Tam Nong District – said that Nam Dau facility is one of the typical start-up facilities of Tam Nong District in recent times. “Currently, the facility has two products that meet the 3-star OCOP standard, one product has been certified as a typical rural industrial product at the provincial level.

Regarding the facility's needs in the coming time, the district is proposing that the Department of Industry and Trade support industrial promotion capital in 2024 for the facility to invest in a fine powder grinding machine and a packaging machine with a budget of VND 230 million, and at the same time propose that the Department of Science and Technology support a closed production line for dragon blood brown rice flour products," said Mr. Hoang.

Meanwhile, due to the continuous rain of about 6 months each year, Ca Mau has developed about 38,000 hectares of shrimp rice. Taking advantage of the special natural conditions of having two seasons of salt water and fresh water each year, the shrimp farming areas of Thoi Binh district, part of Tran Van Thoi district, U Minh district and Ca Mau city have built a famous brand of shrimp rice and organic shrimp rice.

Mr. Le Van Mua - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tri Luc Shrimp Rice Production Service Cooperative (Thoi Binh district) - said that building a brand is not a one-day thing, but must be a long-term process of stabilizing quality. The product must have a difference and be more outstanding than other products to survive and be remembered by consumers when they have a need to use it.

“With that mindset, Tri Luc Rice-Shrimp Cooperative has built the Hoang Yen organic rice brand that meets 3-star OCOP standards, and is favored by many consumers,” Mr. Mua affirmed.

Hearing the name knows the quality of Vietnamese rice

Mr. Le Van Den (Tan Loc Bac, Thoi Binh district), who participates in the production of organic rice under the shrimp rice brand, said that when applying the correct technical process of organic rice cultivation, rice productivity will increase by about 10% compared to traditional production, the price of rice is also 15% higher than that of rice produced in the conventional way, while production costs are also reduced due to not using fertilizers or pesticides.

Also thanks to not using fertilizers and pesticides, shrimp farming under rice canopy is very effective, shrimp and crab grow well, contributing to increased profits. “With 1 hectare of organic rice land, the average annual yield is about 8 tons, and the companies also guarantee and purchase higher than the price of normal rice at harvest time about 1,500 VND/kg. Shrimp is also more profitable than before,” Mr. Den boasted.

Mr. Truong Sy Ba - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tan Long Group - said that the A An rice brand was built from July 2019 to now and has won the trust of consumers. Although this rice brand also faces the problem of counterfeiting and imitation, the subjects can only counterfeit the packaging but cannot counterfeit the quality of the rice.

A An rice is mainly produced from ST21, ST24, ST25, Japonica and Dai Thom 8 rice, supplying the market with about 50,000 - 60,000 tons of rice/year, only consumed in the domestic market and not exported. According to Mr. Ba, to be successful as it is today, the group must standardize the quality and control the quality from rice planting to harvesting, drying, storing, packaging, preserving...

The entire value chain must be strictly controlled so that rice grains are not contaminated. Furthermore, it must be strictly controlled from seed to production. According to Mr. Ba, building a rice brand comes from the legitimate needs of consumers who increasingly want to use high-quality and safe rice with controlled pesticide residues.

Especially the cultivation process has a clear origin. "This is an inevitable trend, so building a brand will attract consumers' support, no matter how difficult it is, but when successful, it will be effective," said Mr. Ba.

Good rice, high price, everyone is satisfied

According to Mr. Nam Dau, with an area of ​​10 hectares of dragon blood rice cultivated 2-3 crops/year, the yield reaches about 60 tons of rice/year. The price of dragon blood rice is about 30,000 VND/kg, 10,000 - 12,000 VND higher than some common types of rice.

In addition, value-added products after rice such as: red dragon brown rice flour (price 80,000 VND/kg) have been recognized as 3-star OCOP standard, dried red dragon rice (price 120,000 VND/kg)...

Rice is more delicious and safe

Mr. Phan Hoang Vu – Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Ca Mau province – said that in recent years, the locality has built the necessary conditions to develop shrimp rice in an organic direction. Localities and people have had access to good rice varieties and natural farming.

“Rice is already delicious, of better quality and safer. We just need to improve the organization of production, have a plan, arrange suitable areas for each rice variety, register trademark protection to have a stable and sustainable market, and we will have enough conditions for rice products to compete and be known by many people,” said Mr. Vu.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/chung-tay-xay-dung-thuong-hieu-gao-viet-ky-1-gao-ngon-la-phai-co-ten-2024120723135174.htm