In recent days, farmers in the Mekong Delta have been flexibly sowing the winter-spring rice crop early to avoid drought and saltwater intrusion at the end of the rice crop. Not only using high-quality rice varieties, but the percentage of farmers using certified rice varieties has also increased rapidly. These are important turning points in improving the quality of rice to enhance the value of Vietnamese rice in the international market.
At the end of the year, the weather in the South has started getting cold. This is also the time when the water in the fields downstream began to recede. Many farmers along the National Highway 61C, which connects Hau Giang and Can Tho provinces, are rushing to plow the soil to sow the winter-spring rice crop.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) on September 22 coordinated with the People's Committee of An Giang Province to hold the announcement ceremony of the export of the first batch of fragrant rice to Europe under the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) with the participation of leaders of the MARD, other relevant ministries, and the representatives of the European Union in Vietnam.
Vietnam’s rice exports have expanded during the pandemic to surpass rival Thailand in price for the first time in three decades, leading experts to suggest the sector should consolidate its position.
According to rice experts, after winning the World’s Best Rice award, Vietnamese rice has resonated in the global market. If the country rapidly expands the production of ST25 rice with a safe cultivation process, this will be the golden time for Vietnam to advertise the Vietnamese rice brand.
According to the Vietnam Food Association (VFA), Vietnam's rice price is now highest in the group of top rice exporters including Thailand, India, Pakistan and Myanmar.
Provinces in the Mekong Delta are entering the harvest season of the winter-spring rice crop, but the export of rice might be affected by the Chinese market due to outbreaks of an acute respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus (Covid-19). Amid such context, diversifying export market is considered as an urgent solution for the Vietnamese rice.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) announced that Vietnam and South Korea had signed an export agreement of all types of rice grown by the former to the latter with a quota of more than 55,000 tons for Vietnam only.
The consignment of 351 containers of Vietnamese rice in transit at Kota Kinabalu port on their way to Luaban port to export to the Philippines and Hong Kong (China) have been sequestered by the customs division at the former port for over four months with unclear reason.
