Vietnamese rice sets an export record in 2023. Photo: TL

Outstanding advantage in rice varieties

In 2023, Vietnam's rice exports set a record with nearly 8.3 million tons, a turnover of 4.78 billion USD, the highest since Vietnam started exporting rice in 1989. Commenting on this impressing results, Mr. Le Thanh Tung, Deputy Director of the Department of Crop Production, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vice President and General Secretary of the Vietnam Rice Industry Association, said that this is the success of the entire production chain.

Meanwhile, Professor Vo Tong Xuan emphasized the role of the quality of Vietnam's rice varieties. "The price of Vietnamese rice can be sold for 600-700 USD/ton, even higher than the price of Thailand because of the outstanding feature of new rice variety in terms of reasonable price and good quality " - Professor Vo Tong Xuan emphasized. In particular, priorities of Vietnamese’s rice prices is not only resulted from the fact that India and Thailand were affected by climate change, but also from new varieties, which enables Vietnam to remain high prices. In addition, while countries competing for Vietnam's rice exports are severely hit by climate change, Vietnam can still arrange high-yield rice areas with 3-4 crops thanks to adaptation to climate change and the Government's Resolution allowing the re-planning of rice growing areas according to nature.

Mr. Pham Thai Binh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Trung An High-Tech Agriculture Joint Stock Company also assessed that Vietnam is much better than Thailand in terms of short-term, high-quality rice varieties. Even before the "price fever" of 2023, Trung An's high quality products were exported at prices of 700-800 USD/ton, even up to 1,200 USD/ton.

​From a local perspective, Ms. Vo Phuong Thuy, Deputy Director of Dong Thap Department of Industry and Trade, said that currently 80% of Dong Thap's rice growing area is high quality varieties, the rest is sticky rice and other rice varieties used as processing materials. The province also has nearly 200 businesses operating related to the rice industry, including 15 rice export businesses. Rice export output in 2023 reached 536,000 tons, with a turnover of 400 million USD, an increase of 23% in volume and 56% in value compared to the previous year. In addition to production and export, Dong Thap also has many units processing rice products, helping to increase the value of rice grains.

Similarly, in Long An, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Truyen, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Long An province, said that in 2023, Long An's rice production met the set requirements in all three Spring, Summer Fall and Fall Winter in terms of area, output and export. Recently, Long An has begun to apply high technology on rice, vegetables, shrimp, beef... People boldly apply progress in production; high quality rice lines reached 66%. Accordingly, the province's export output increased by about 55%; value increased about 63%...

Standardize the value chain

From the results achieved in 2023 and the forecast of remaining high prices, experts and businesses all believe that it is necessary to standardize the rice production chain based on sustainable links between farmers and businesses to create a foundation for Vietnamese rice to seize opportunities, penetrate more in the international market and gain higher value.

Mr. Le Thanh Tung assessed that the sustainable development of the rice industry needs to focus on sharing profits and risks. Enterprises build brands basing on the State’s standards. On the other hand, businesses must enable to access to raw material areas to stabilize quality.

Mr. Pham Thai Binh also assessed that the association will help organize production in line with market demand. Farmers and businesses both benefit when the supply is stable in both output and quality, and the selling price is adjusted according to the laws of supply and demand of the market.

The project "Sustainable development of 1 million hectares specializing in high-quality and low-emission rice cultivation associated with green growth in the Mekong Delta until 2030" shows the Government's clear direction for the rice industry. In particular, localities and businesses are encouraged to work towards linking production in the high-quality rice industry, not chasing output but focusing on quality, added value of products associated with environmental protection and climate change.

Professor Vo Tong Xuan assessed that the project is an opportunity to rearrange the rice production value chain, from seed selection, production, area expansion to processing... so that Vietnamese rice grains can consolidate its quality and brand as well as further enhance value.

However, according to Mr. Pham Thai Binh, the success of the project depends on supporting mechanisms and policies. Similar to the previous large-field model, many businesses were unable to access due to lack of resources. In fact, in order to link production, businesses must invest long-term and synchronously from organizing production, providing input materials to purchasing, transporting, and processing. Meanwhile, the capital needs exceed the capacity of most businesses today.

​Regarding this issue, Mr. Nguyen Van Bach, Head of Credit Policy Department, Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank) said that Agribank has signed a memorandum of cooperation to provide Banking service products for subjects under the above project. Specifically, Agribank will advise, support and provide banking products and services such as deposit services, loan services, and financial services... for participants in accordance with their scheme. Particularly, farmers who directly grow rice and businesses that purchase, process and export rice are subjected to this support.

At the same time, based on the implementation of specific credit programs, as well as Decree 55/2015/ND-CP on credit policies serving agricultural and rural development, Agribank is always associated with the determination to inhibit people and businesses from capital lack.

Mr. Bach further informed that Agribank is providing credit of about 250,000 billion VND in the Mekong Delta region, accounting for 25% of total outstanding credit, of which investment in agriculture and rural areas accounts for 80% of total funding. Currently, Agribank is implementing a credit program of about VND 65,000 billion with preferential interest rates, applying to many customer segments in the agricultural and rural sector from rice exporters to small and medium-sized enterprises participating in the rice production value chain....