Building rice brands for sustainable development in the UK market

Mr. Nguyen Canh Cuong - Counselor, Vietnam Trade Office in the UK had an interview with Industry and Trade Newspaper about opportunities to export rice to the UK market.

Xây dựng thương hiệu gạo để phát triển bền vững tại thị trường Anh

Sir, what opportunities does India's suspension of rice exports open up for Vietnamese rice in the UK market?

With a community of more than 5.5 million people of Asian origin, the demand for rice in the UK is huge while this country does not grow rice at all, and all consumption needs must be imported. In 2021, the UK imported nearly 652,000 tons of rice, worth nearly 575 million USD. In 2022, rice imports increased by 4.1% to more than 678,000 tons, while the import value increased by 7% to more than 603 million USD.

The UK imported 3,399 tonnes of rice from Vietnam in 2022, up 24.5% compared to 2021, with an export value of more than 3.7 million USD, up 34% compared to 2021. Vietnam is currently the 14th largest rice exporter to the UK, but its market share is modest (0.6%). Among the Southeast Asian countries exporting a lot of rice to the UK in 2022, Vietnam had the highest average unit price (1,093 USD/ton), while the average unit prices of Thai, Cambodian and Myanmar rice were 916, 915 and 435 USD/ton, respectively.

Meanwhile, India is known as the largest rice exporter to the UK market, accounting for nearly 27% of the country's total rice imports. Accordingly, the sudden suspension of exports will create a supply shortage of about 75,000 tons of rice in the UK in the second half of 2023. Therefore, India's suspension of exports will cause UK rice importers to switch to buying rice from Vietnam and Thailand. This is an opportunity for Vietnam to rise to a higher position in the list of customers of UK rice importing companies.

The most widely used rice in the UK today is Bastima rice with leading brands such as: Tilda Pure Basmati Rice (Gluten Free), Laila Basmati Rice, Ben's Original Long Grain Rice, Grower's Havest Long Grain Rice, Thai Jasmine Rice, Easy Cook Long Grain.

Although the British market does not have a consistent concept of good rice because each type of rice is associated with the consumer tastes of each ethnic community, there are some common standards for good rice such as: Rice grains must be 7 mm or longer in length; Rice grains must have a protein content of about 10-11%; When cooked, rice must be soft, sticky, not sticky and fragrant. In addition, the rice must be clean and free of chemical residues or preservatives.

Vietnamese rice in the UK is mainly sold to the Vietnamese community and partly to the Chinese, Thai, Malaysian, and Filipino communities at retail prices in supermarkets of VND58,000-72,000/kg. Popular Vietnamese rice brands in the UK are fragrant rice, broken rice, sticky rice, and ST25 (Mr. Cua rice).

Mr. Nguyen Canh Cuong - Counselor, Trade Office of Vietnam in the UK

So, in the context of supply disruption, what will the UK's rice consumption and import demand be like in the coming time and what recommendations does the Trade Office have for Vietnamese rice exporting enterprises?

According to Statista, the UK rice market is expected to grow by 2.1% in volume by 2024. In the second half of 2023, the UK market is forecast to have a supply deficit of about 75,000 tonnes of rice. However, the UK government has yet to make a policy response to the rice trade after India imposed a ban on the export of common rice.

If they actively market themselves professionally, including promoting in local media in English, Vietnamese rice exporters will certainly increase their market share in the UK, including the market segment of restaurants serving Asian tourists, which accounts for a significant number of the tens of millions of tourists who visit the UK each year.

However, it should be noted that at the current favorable time, in the context of supply disruption and Vietnamese rice with good quality and competitive advantage thanks to the UKVFTA, exporters need to take advantage of the "golden" opportunity to request rice distributors in the UK to use the Vietnamese rice brand, instead of the distributor's brand, to help raise awareness of British consumers about Vietnamese rice.

For many years, despite being a major rice exporter in the world, Vietnamese rice exported to the UK as well as many other countries is often sold under the brands of distributors, making consumers unaware of the origin of the rice from Vietnam. Therefore, building a brand is a long-term solution for Vietnamese rice to maintain its market share in the UK once the quality of Vietnamese rice has won over consumers.

What recommendations and solutions does the Trade Office have to promote Vietnam's rice exports to the UK market, sir?

The large supply shortage from India will create new opportunities for Vietnamese rice in the UK market. To take advantage of this opportunity, the Trade Office recommends that the Ministry of Industry and Trade encourage rice exporting enterprises to sign long-term supply contracts on the basis of balancing domestic food security with export demand; the State Bank considers increasing credit for enterprises purchasing rice for export.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development supports farmers to expand rice growing areas by applying Global GAP to produce high-quality fragrant rice. Local authorities with large rice growing areas need to implement programs to support farmers with safe rice varieties, agricultural materials, rice milling and preservation to meet the quality and consumer tastes of the market.

In the future, to continue supporting potential export industries, especially rice, the Vietnam Trade Office in the UK is also preparing to participate in the Speciality Fine Food Fair London in November-December 2023 to promote Vietnamese specialties, including ST25 rice. This is a timely opportunity for our ST25 rice to be promoted to distributors, hotels and high-end restaurants in the UK.

Thank you!

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