Increasing global demand, stable domestic production, and better rice quality count among the reasons Vietnam can be confident its rice exports will prosper again in 2021 and surpass the 3.1 billion USD in revenue posted in 2020, despite a significant decline in the first two months of this year.
The 2020-2021 winter - spring crop in the Mekong Delta region suffered less from drought and saline intrusion, heard a working session between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the agriculture sectors in 13 regional localities on February 18.
While 2020 has been a successful year for Vietnamese rice exports, more must be done to accelerate the development of the national rice brand, experts have said.
The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Kien Giang, the country’s largest rice producer, has implemented several advanced extension models for rice cultivation that reduce the quantity of seeds required and use advanced techniques to improve yields and reduce costs.
Despite having great potential, Vietnamese rice-based products remain rudimentary and unpolished, severely hampering their ability to compete on the global market, according to industry experts.
The recent ratification of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) by the National Assembly has created a window of opportunity for Vietnamese farm produce, especially rice, to enter the European market. To fully take advantage of the trade deal, however, Vietnamese producers must improve the quality of their produce.
The south central province of Binh Thuan has set up concentrated cultivation areas for key farm produce after six years of restructuring agricultural production.
Vietnam needs to take new solutions and steps in rice production and export to ensure benefits of businesses and farmers given market-related difficulties forecast for the sector in the whole year, heard a seminar in Ho Chi Minh City on June 24.
Thailand will host a national convention on rice in late May to promote rice exports and reinforce trade partnership with representatives from public and private sectors.
Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh has held a working session with head of China’s General Administration of Customs Ni Yuefeng to seek ways to boost bilateral trade ties in a more balanced and sustainable manner.
A project partly funded by a World Bank loan is being carried out in the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang, aiming to help more than 26,000 farming households adopt sustainable agricultural production practices.
After the Government took steps to prevent rice prices from falling in February, prices have started to inch up in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta – the granary of Vietnam – though not by much.
The Government allocated some 7,800 tonnes of rice to more than 520,000 impoverished people across the nation ahead of the traditional Lunar New Year (Tet).
The Government’s recently-issued Decree No.107 has mostly received a warm welcome from rice exporters as its provisions enable them to improve their competitive edge and expand export markets.
Despite a reduction of more than 17,000 hectares in cultivating land, rice production in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap in 2018 rose 120,000 tonnes compared to the previous year to 3.32 million tonnes.
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