Vietnamese rice exporters often ship in 50-kilogramme bags under the labels of their foreign distributors (Photo: VNA)Long An (VNS/VNA) - Trung An Hi-techFarming JSC in the Mekong Delta has been exporting rice under foreign brandnames for many years though it is itself one of the biggest rice exporters in Vietnam.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of thethird Vietnamese Rice Festival in Long An province last December, Pham Thai Binh,the company’s director, said to let consumers know about Vietnamese riceproducts, exporters like his company have to be able to show consumers theirbrand logos.
“But at the moment we still depend on buyers,which means they decide the packaging and labelling and we only have to followinstructions.
“Some markets allow the phrase ‘origin in Vietnam’to be written on the package, and that is already quite generous.”
He said foreign buyers usually order in bulk andwant 50kg packaged under their name.
“They do not have to introduce Vietnamese riceto consumers, they just want to promote their own brands.”
According to the Ministry of Agricultural andRural Development (MARD), Vietnam exports to 150 markets yet global recognitionof Vietnamese rice brands is still very low.
Last December, it unveiled the official Vietnamrice brand logo hoping to create a firm foothold in the global market.
Binh said it was an important move because itwould help consumers identify Vietnamese rice since the logo is on the package.
But having a national brand does not mean itwould automatically enhance the value of Vietnamese rice, he said.
“Whether or not we can increase the valuedepends on the quality of the product. Quality decides everything. Even thenational rice brand can only be successful if companies and farmers collaborateto improve product quality.”
Nguyen Quoc Toan, Acting Director of MARD’sDepartment of Agricultural Market Processing and Development, had emphasisedthe importance of quality at the launch of the national brand logo.
“The main issue [when building a brand forVietnamese rice] is product quality because no brand will be accepted when thequality is poor.
“First and foremost, we need to improve thequality of our rice grain to not only meet the requirements of traditional ricemarkets but also niche markets in future.”
He said enterprises and farmers must worktogether very closely to enhance the value of Vietnamese rice.
Dr Nguyen Duc Thanh, Director of the Instituteof Economic and Policy Research, told Vietnam News that consumers are now moredemanding than ever. “They want to buy clean and organic rice whose productionis traceable.”
He said farmers have to meet those requirementsbut cannot do it by themselves.
They have to work with enterprises because thelatter work directly with consumers and have the responsibility to ensurepeople can buy good quality products, he said. “Only by joining hands canfarmers and enterprises tap foreign markets.”
He also pointed out that due to lowproductivity, farmers have to grow three rice crops a year instead of two asrecommended by scientists for sustainability, which leads to low quality andalmost no value addition.
If the non-agricultural sector grows further,farmers could abandon the third crop, he said.
“Production may decrease but quality willimprove and bring more value.”
According to Dr Nguyen Van Sanh, former directorof the Mekong Delta Development Research Institute, the delta, the country’srice basket, has been hit by climate change in recent years, which has broughtchallenges such as changing water flows, low market competitiveness andoverexploitation of agricultural resources.
Besides, production costs increase while qualitydeteriorates, he said. “To develop a sustainable rice industry, farmers,enterprises and administrators must be ‘smart’ in production and trading.”
It can be done by selecting appropriate ricevarieties, making use of ecological advantages through regional andsub-regional integration, improving production techniques, and adoptingeffective mechanisms and policies, he added.
Dr Thanh noted that enterprises need to pay moreattention to communication and advertising to build their brands in thedomestic market first before expanding overseas.
He said though advertising is costly, withoutcommunication consumers cannot know and would continue to think that foreignrice is better than Vietnamese rice though it is not always the reality.
He said high-income families prefer to buyimported rice from Japan, Thailand or South Korea, and so building rice brandsshould not only be for international markets but also the domestic market.
“We can sell Vietnamese rice at supermarketsoverseas but on a small scale. At the moment the biggest market for us is thedomestic market.
“It has 100 million people who eat rice everyday. Only a small number of highly selective consumers care about rice brandswhile the majority are indifferent.
“The domestic market is very sustainable for usas it is familiar and we have knowledge about the local market and consumers,” hesaid.-VNS/VNA
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of thethird Vietnamese Rice Festival in Long An province last December, Pham Thai Binh,the company’s director, said to let consumers know about Vietnamese riceproducts, exporters like his company have to be able to show consumers theirbrand logos.
“But at the moment we still depend on buyers,which means they decide the packaging and labelling and we only have to followinstructions.
“Some markets allow the phrase ‘origin in Vietnam’to be written on the package, and that is already quite generous.”
He said foreign buyers usually order in bulk andwant 50kg packaged under their name.
“They do not have to introduce Vietnamese riceto consumers, they just want to promote their own brands.”
According to the Ministry of Agricultural andRural Development (MARD), Vietnam exports to 150 markets yet global recognitionof Vietnamese rice brands is still very low.
Last December, it unveiled the official Vietnamrice brand logo hoping to create a firm foothold in the global market.
Binh said it was an important move because itwould help consumers identify Vietnamese rice since the logo is on the package.
But having a national brand does not mean itwould automatically enhance the value of Vietnamese rice, he said.
“Whether or not we can increase the valuedepends on the quality of the product. Quality decides everything. Even thenational rice brand can only be successful if companies and farmers collaborateto improve product quality.”
Nguyen Quoc Toan, Acting Director of MARD’sDepartment of Agricultural Market Processing and Development, had emphasisedthe importance of quality at the launch of the national brand logo.
“The main issue [when building a brand forVietnamese rice] is product quality because no brand will be accepted when thequality is poor.
“First and foremost, we need to improve thequality of our rice grain to not only meet the requirements of traditional ricemarkets but also niche markets in future.”
He said enterprises and farmers must worktogether very closely to enhance the value of Vietnamese rice.
Dr Nguyen Duc Thanh, Director of the Instituteof Economic and Policy Research, told Vietnam News that consumers are now moredemanding than ever. “They want to buy clean and organic rice whose productionis traceable.”
He said farmers have to meet those requirementsbut cannot do it by themselves.
They have to work with enterprises because thelatter work directly with consumers and have the responsibility to ensurepeople can buy good quality products, he said. “Only by joining hands canfarmers and enterprises tap foreign markets.”
He also pointed out that due to lowproductivity, farmers have to grow three rice crops a year instead of two asrecommended by scientists for sustainability, which leads to low quality andalmost no value addition.
If the non-agricultural sector grows further,farmers could abandon the third crop, he said.
“Production may decrease but quality willimprove and bring more value.”
According to Dr Nguyen Van Sanh, former directorof the Mekong Delta Development Research Institute, the delta, the country’srice basket, has been hit by climate change in recent years, which has broughtchallenges such as changing water flows, low market competitiveness andoverexploitation of agricultural resources.
Besides, production costs increase while qualitydeteriorates, he said. “To develop a sustainable rice industry, farmers,enterprises and administrators must be ‘smart’ in production and trading.”
It can be done by selecting appropriate ricevarieties, making use of ecological advantages through regional andsub-regional integration, improving production techniques, and adoptingeffective mechanisms and policies, he added.
Dr Thanh noted that enterprises need to pay moreattention to communication and advertising to build their brands in thedomestic market first before expanding overseas.
He said though advertising is costly, withoutcommunication consumers cannot know and would continue to think that foreignrice is better than Vietnamese rice though it is not always the reality.
He said high-income families prefer to buyimported rice from Japan, Thailand or South Korea, and so building rice brandsshould not only be for international markets but also the domestic market.
“We can sell Vietnamese rice at supermarketsoverseas but on a small scale. At the moment the biggest market for us is thedomestic market.
“It has 100 million people who eat rice everyday. Only a small number of highly selective consumers care about rice brandswhile the majority are indifferent.
“The domestic market is very sustainable for usas it is familiar and we have knowledge about the local market and consumers,” hesaid.-VNS/VNA
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