Illustrative photo (Source: VNA) Long An (VNA) – A seminar on expandingVietnamese rice exports took place in the Mekong Delta province of Long An onDecember 21 within the framework of the third Vietnamese rice festival.
Participants discussed market structures and measures todevelop trademarks and affirm the position of Vietnamese rice on the internationalstage.
Tran Quoc Toan – deputy head of the Ministry of Industry andTrade’s Department of Import-Export – said Vietnam is now the world’s thirdlargest rice exporter, accounting for 15 percent of the global market share.Its rice has been shipped to 150 countries and territories worldwide. In thefirst 11 months of this year, total rice exports hit 5.64 million tonnes, worth2.83 billion USD.
According to Toan, Vietnam is facing fierce competition fromother exporters in terms of technological application. Meanwhile, importers arediversifying supplies and demanding higher quality.
He called for the restructuring of the rice sector, includingbuilding concentrated material zones, applying advanced technologies inmanufacturing, expanding markets by stepping up bilateral and multilateralnegotiations, and marketing and developing distribution networks abroad.
Nguyen Duc Thanh, Director of the Vietnam Institute forEconomic Policy and Research under the Vietnam National University-Hanoi, saidthat although rice exports remain an important driving force of the sector, itis necessary to gear towards the domestic market too, adding that success inbuilding trademarks at home will lay a solid foundation for Vietnamese rice tomove abroad.
He suggested building a set of standards for rice processingand grinding, reducing the use of plant protection chemicals, encouraging landaccumulation for large-scale rice farming, developing micro-finance andinsurance mechanism for farmers, and rearranging the Vietnam Food Associationto ensure the interests of farmers and businesses.
Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Pham VanCanh said the locality has set the goal of having 20,000ha of rice withcertified seedlings and safe farming process by 2020.–VNA
VNA
