ST25 rice won the world's best rice award for the second time right before the first International Rice Festival held from December 11 to 14, 2023 in Hau Giang. Thanh Nien had an interview with Professor, Dr. Vo Tong Xuan, Vietnam's leading agronomist, about the opportunities for Vietnamese rice around this event.
Professor Vo Tong Xuan believes that ST25 should be made a national rice brand because it has many advantages in terms of communication and commerce.
* Professor Vo Tong Xuan, in 2019 you were present at the "World's Best Rice" contest and witnessed the moment Vietnamese rice was named. This year, the same rice variety was honored for the second time, how do you feel?
-First of all, as a Vietnamese person who has been attached to rice for many years, my feelings are joy and pride.
I would also like to add a little more about the competition. It is held within the framework of the conference of rice traders around the world (mainly Asian countries) by The Rice Trader Company. They are traders, so the way the competition is organized and the criteria are different from those of scientists. They honor delicious rice mainly based on consumption and culinary factors when choosing prestigious chefs as judges. Therefore, there are many different opinions about the competition and the title. However, from a certain perspective, it also reflects the market demand and consumer tastes of world customers, more or less helping Vietnam build a rice brand in the international market. The ST25 rice variety winning the award once again further strengthens its position and value. This is a very good thing, not only for ST25 rice, but also for the Vietnamese rice industry in general.
* The professor mentioned that ST25 contributes to building the Vietnamese rice brand in the international arena. So from an economic perspective, have we gained any benefits from this?
-At the 2019 conference, when ST25 rice won the prize, traders were curious about this rice variety. I directly shared with some people from Hong Kong, Macau... about the difference between ST25 and the rest, mainly Thai rice. First, Thai rice has 2 main segments: high-quality fragrant rice and long-grain white rice. High-quality fragrant rice is a long-term rice variety, only growing one crop per year. At that time, their common white rice cost about 400 USD, while high-quality fragrant rice cost about 800 USD.
ST25 rice wins world's best rice award for second time
Vietnam's ST25 rice, on the other hand, is a short-term variety and can be produced 2-3 crops per year. Traders said they have tried ST25 rice and confirmed that its quality is not inferior to Thailand's specialty fragrant rice. They also said that Vietnam's continuous production of rice throughout the year is a big advantage; in terms of taste and consumption habits, it is a new variety. Therefore, to increase competitiveness, Vietnamese rice suppliers should offer prices slightly lower than Thailand's specialty fragrant rice, ensuring good consumption.
As a result, ST25 and many other short-term fragrant rice varieties of Vietnam have together created a new segment in the world rice market with an average price of 600 - 650 USD/ton. This can be considered a segment where Vietnamese rice has a monopoly and is consumed very well in many markets.
However, the disadvantage of the rice industry is the same as that of the tra fish industry, we still cannot take advantage of the "one market, one market" advantage. The reason is that there are too many businesses competing and undercutting each other.
*So, according to the Professor, how should we take advantage of this opportunity most effectively?
- I remember that in the previous award, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development awarded a certificate of merit to Mr. Cua (Mr. Ho Quang Cua, the father of the ST25 rice variety). However, up to now, it is unknown why this rice variety has not been recognized as a national variety while its quality and commercial potential have been proven. Although it is a personal award, I think all Vietnamese people can be proud of it in the same way that the Organizing Committee honored it - "Vietnam's best rice in the world", they do not want to personalize it.
Looking at Thailand, they also have a national rice branding program and they have done very well with the chosen variety being the most famous Hom Mali variety. In Vietnam, in recent years, we have also spent a lot of money doing similar things but it seems to have not been successful. I think that, with ST25 winning the "World's Best Rice" award for the second time and the upcoming international rice festival, we should take this opportunity to recognize and praise the meaningful contributions of Mr. Cua, the father of the most famous rice variety in Vietnam today, ST25, and promote communication about the quality of Vietnamese rice with vivid evidence being the international award it has just received.
In addition, the Government has just approved a project of one million hectares of high-quality rice, reducing emissions; the agricultural sector should soon recognize ST25 as a national variety and put it into production to increase the efficiency of the project.
ST25 won the World's Best Rice award twice
On November 30, in Cebu (Philippines), Labor Hero Ho Quang Cua's ST25 rice once again won the "World's Best Rice" award. However, at that time, the Organizing Committee did not announce the name of the rice variety, so some participating units claimed to have won the award and there were some conflicting opinions. On December 5, the Organizing Committee issued a second official press release confirming that "ST25 won the World's Best Rice Award in 2023".
The first international rice festival
The Vietnam Rice International Festival will take place from December 11 to 14, 2023 in Hau Giang, co-organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the People's Committee of Hau Giang province. This is the first time the Vietnam Rice Festival has been upgraded to an international festival, the previous 5 times it was only held domestically. The content of the seminars, performances, displays, exhibitions... at this festival will have the participation of officials from the Ministry of Agriculture of several countries around the world, with about 200 international delegates attending.
In particular, at this festival, the project "Sustainable development of one million hectares of high-quality and low-emission rice cultivation associated with green growth in the Mekong Delta by 2030" will be officially announced. This will convey the message and commitment of the Vietnamese Government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, towards green and clean production.
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