The southern province of An Giang is endowed with natural advantages to boost agricultural development, focusing on cultivating rice, the locality’s key export, a provincial official revealed to Chinese businesses at a conference in Beijing on April 17.

Addressing the event, Director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade (DIT) Mai Thi Anh Tuyet stressed her province leads localities in the Mekong Delta in terms of rice production with an annual yield of 4 milion tonnes.

An Giang always attaches importance to applying advanced techniques in rice production, which helps improve the quality of the grain, said Tuyet, adding that the province annually exports over 600,000 tonnes of rice to more than 70 countries and territories around the world, mainly Asian and European markets. It is eyeing on the American market.

At the conference, Zong Danfei, Vice President and General Secretary of the China National Association of Grain Sector (CAGS) briefed Vietnamese guests of his country’s rice import and export, noting that China imported a combined volume of 3.914 million tonnes of rice between 2011 and 2013. 

Other Chinese representatives asserted that the conference is a good opportunity for An Giang’s rice processing enterprises and exporters to learn about the Beijing market and the Chinese market at large. 

Earlier, the delegation from the DIT held talks with representatives from the Rice Branch of the CAGS. 

At the function, CAGS Vice President and President of the branch Shi Jianwei said although the quality of Vietnam’s rice has been improved, Vietnamese businesses need to pay more attention to the selection of rice varieties and limit the use of chemical fertilisers to ensure food safety and hygiene, issues which draw much concern among Chinese consumers.-VNA