Bringing Vietnam's ST25 rice to the Canadian market

KD Trading - a logistics company owned by two young Vietnamese Canadians - has made efforts to learn and successfully become the sole distributor of ST25 rice (Mr. Cua's rice) in Canada.

With about 7 million people of Asian descent, Canada has a high demand for rice. In the first 6 months of the year, the total amount of rice imported here reached more than 207 million USD, an increase of 5% over the same period in 2023. Vietnam is in the top 5 countries exporting the most rice to Canada, with the strongest growth rate of nearly 55% and reaching a turnover of about 6.5 million USD.

KD Trading - a logistics company owned by two young Vietnamese Canadians - has made efforts to learn and successfully become the sole distributor of ST25 rice (Mr. Cua's rice) in Canada.

This event not only helps Vietnam's best rice brand in the world to expand its market abroad, but also helps us increase the market share of high-quality rice exported to Canada.

Sharing with VNA reporters, KD Trading CEO Kevin Le said that to import Vietnam's ST25 rice into Canada, KD Trading conducted a very thorough survey of the market.

He affirmed that KD Trading understands that the Canadian market currently has many different types of rice, so the company must have specific and long-term competitive strategies for ST25 rice to be accepted in this market.

The reason for this company to bring ST25 rice to Canada is very simple. That is because our rice has special quality and is a premium rice. Vietnam has a long-standing rice civilization, but is not as good at promoting its brand as Thailand's Hom Mali rice.

KD Trading believes that ST25 rice will make a difference thanks to winning the world's best rice award twice in 2019 and 2023 and the business is very proud to be the only partner to bring this delicious rice brand to Vietnamese people as well as Asian consumers in Canada.

Trade Counselor of the Vietnamese Embassy in Canada Tran Thu Quynh told reporters that the Trade Office highly appreciates the role of overseas Vietnamese businesses in bringing Vietnamese rice products to the Canadian market. Currently, Vietnam has the 5th largest market share in rice exports to this market.

Ms. Quynh commented that previously we only focused on exporting low-value rice varieties such as Jasmine white rice, but with the efforts of overseas Vietnamese businesses, high-quality, branded rice varieties such as ST25 or Ong Cua rice have been introduced to this market.

Canada is a fairly large rice consuming market, with an import demand of about 500,000 tons per year and an increasing trend over the years. However, this market also has strict quality requirements.

Therefore, there needs to be coordination between all parties from the local Trade Office to exporters, importers and distributors so that imported rice lines here are always stable in terms of variety and quality, especially for the ST25 brand, just like the Thais have done with their high-quality Hom Mali rice line.

Mr. Kevin Le confided that food regulations in Canada are very strict and KD Trading is very fortunate to be chosen by Ho Quang Tri as the sole distributor of Mr. Cua brand ST25 rice products in Canada.

He affirmed that KD Trading has worked very carefully and in detail with the Canadian Food Administration (CFIA) to ensure that everything is up to standard from packaging, labeling and even controlling heavy metal residues as well as pesticide residues to ensure import.

The Canadian market's rice import demand is currently at over 500 million USD/year and is considered one of the world's largest rice import markets. Vietnamese rice products in general have been highly appreciated by the market for their quality.

With the current growth rate, it is estimated that in 2024, Vietnam can export more than 15 million USD to this market, raising Vietnam's rice market share in the area to about 3.2% in value.

According to Ms. Quynh, Vietnam's rice has grown very strongly after 5 years of implementing the CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership). Previously, Vietnam's rice exports to Canada only reached less than 6 million USD/year. After 5 years of implementing the Agreement, in 2023, Vietnam's exports to the area doubled and reached nearly 15 million USD. Especially in the first few months of this year, our rice growth to the area has also increased exponentially, with nearly 100% growth.

Currently, Mr. Cua's genuine ST25 rice has officially appeared on the shelves of retailers in Canada. With the investment and careful preparation of KD Trading, it is hoped that Vietnam's high-quality ST25 rice will quickly affirm its position in the market, contributing to helping our agricultural production take a step forward in the international supply chain.

According to Tin Tuc Newspaper

Source: https://doanhnghiepvn.vn/doanh-nhan/mang-gao-st25-cua-viet-nam-vao-thi-truong-canada/20240919073255582