When the scandals are not worth it

In addition to the record turnover export 11 months of 2023 reached 4.41 billion USD, an increase of 36.3%, rice Viet continues to receive good news when being honored as "The best rice in the world".

Rice exports in the first 11 months of 2023 reach 4.41 billion USD

Specifically, within the framework of the Global Rice Trade Conference organized by The Rice Trader in the Philippines, Vietnamese rice surpassed its competitors and was honored with the First Prize of "World's Best Rice" (World's Best Rice). This title is a testament to the proactive research, selection and creation of high-quality breeds, and methodical commercialization of our country's enterprises.

Accordingly, Vietnam had 3 businesses attend the conference and sent 6 rice samples to participate in the award. Specifically, Ho Quang Tri Private Enterprise sent 2 rice samples ST24, ST25; Loc Troi Group sent 2 samples of rice LT28 and Nang Hoa 9, ThaiBinh Seed Group sent 2 samples of rice TBR39-1 and A Sao sticky rice.

The whole country of Vietnam could have celebrated this victory together. However, immediately after the information was released, there were controversies about "Vietnamese rice" or "ST25 rice" The most delicious in the world?

Due to controversy from Vietnam, the organizers had to announce it 6 months earlier than expected. Accordingly, the rice variety that received the world's best rice award in 2023 is ST25 rice from Vietnam, developed by Ho Quang Tri Private Enterprise. Besides ST25, no Vietnamese rice variety made it into the Top 3 finalists and no rice variety affected the contest results.

So, after a week of controversy, all information has become clear. The announcement of ST25 rice winning the first prize for the world's best rice in 2023 earlier than expected was announced by the organizing committee: “Faced with the unforeseen problems we have to face, we see It is necessary to intervene to protect the integrity of the award and encourage the individual excellence that we so cherish”.

Being honored as the best rice in the world once again affirms the quality and reputation of Vietnamese rice in the international market. What should have been a story of general joy for the Vietnamese rice industry turned into unnecessary incidents.

In fact, this is not the first time in Vietnam there has been a controversy about the owner of the best rice in the world. In 2019, The Rice Trader's announcement ceremony for the world's best rice award also caused a stir when information was inconsistent about whether the best rice was ST24 or ST25. After that, ST25 was announced by the organizers as the best rice in the world.

In 2022, at the Vietnam Delicious Rice contest, there was also a scandal when the "father" ST25 and ST24 varieties are suspicious and recommend re-evaluating the rice sources of the units used to compete in the competition to see if they are using other people's rice that is protected by intellectual property for the competition.

Go to the story brand of Vietnamese rice

Currently, Vietnam maintains 11 groups of agricultural, forestry and fishery products with an export turnover of 1 billion USD or more, of which 7 groups of products have an export turnover of over 3 billion USD.

Despite achieving impressive figures in export turnover, 80% of exported agricultural products have not yet built a brand brand< a i=2>, does not have its own logo or label and does not fully participate in the global value chain. Many products are exported and sold in foreign markets under brands that are not of Vietnamese enterprises.

Of the 13 key national agricultural products registered for protection in Vietnam, only 2 products have a certification mark, including "Vietnamese Rice".

Although the Vietnam Rice certification mark has been protected domestically and in some countries, it has not been granted to any business to use until now because of some problems.

The reason is that the legal basis for management and use of certification marks is incomplete. Registration for protection abroad Foreigners also face difficulties for two reasons: Lack of registration funds; Some countries only accept protection in the form of regular trademarks, not protection in the form of certification marks.

Lack of connectivity is an inherent story for Vietnamese businesses. This has made already weak businesses even weaker. The saying of American billionaire Warren Buffett is "if you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together" or the proverb "If you trade with friends, if you sell with wards" in all conditions and all circumstances remains the same. its topicality and value.

Agricultural expert Hoang Trong Thuy commented that every business in the competition hopes to win a prize. This is not only affirming the rice brand of your business but also a matter of honor for the business. However, in commerce, businesses also have to consider "trading" with market development. Because only when customer trust is created, trust is disciplined and ethical, then will the market be sustainable. And clearly, this incident has left an unnecessary "scar" on the trade of the Vietnamese rice industry.

Looking at Southeast Asia, Thailand also focuses on building national brands for key agricultural products. The Government prioritizes investment in building and developing the national brand of the food industry. From the national brand "Thailand - Kitchen of the world" with the desire for Thailand to become a "kitchen" of the world, the country's food export growth rate is at a very impressive figure of 10%/year.

Currently Thai food is considered to be ranked 4th (after Italy, France and China) in terms of recognition. know to diners around the world, this also makes an important contribution to promoting tourism and trade in this country.

With specific products, Thailand has succeeded in building national brands for products, especially products with their own characteristics. THAI'S RICE brand is a national brand of Thailand used for many products such as: Thai Hom Mali, Thai Pathumthani (two types of products in the national brand of rice).

The national brand "Thai's rice" is the Thai Government's guarantee of product characteristics, including quality, origin, tradition... to consumers around the world, the brand This is managed by the Department of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Trade.

Thailand builds brand awareness based on its reputation for quality, the taste of Thai rice in the market and the general image of Thai rice, improving the quality and varieties of rice to differentiate itself from competitors. compete.

Most importantly, the Government and the private sector have cooperation to promote the quality and taste of Thai rice in the world market.

The question is what will happen to other agricultural, forestry and fishery products? If the Vietnamese rice industry still has the mindset of "trading" Can Vietnamese rice grains travel far?